LoveLess
by Golden Mist Fox
Summary: Once a year, in the night where a red-ringed moon hang on a starless sky, demons experience strong desires to mate with anyone in their sight, and the son of Satan is no exception. Can he overcome his lust or will he submit to it? RinXYukio
1. LoveLess 1: First Whisper

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ao no Exorcist, it belongs to whomever rightfully owns it (I forgot):)**

Summary: Once a year, in the night where a red-ringed moon hang on a starless sky, demons experience strong desires to mate with anyone in their sight, and the son of Satan is no exception. Can he overcome his lust or will he submit to it? RinXYukio

Being this fic is M-rated, I think no warning is necessary for all of you who are looking for some smut Okumuracest. If you are against boyxboy please turn the page back and find some other fic. This fic will probably three-shots, hopefully. But now please read and enjoy yourself! :D

**LoveLess**  
><strong>Chapter 1 : First Whisper<strong>

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Konekomaru strutted along the wooden floor, while trying to balance the huge basket full with potatoes in his arms. On his right, the sound of a little fountain inside an enormous Zen Garden accompanied him, giving a sense of comfort to him, even when walking outside in a full moon night which was the time where most demons were active.

"Kireii", he complimented the moon that adorned the starless sky. It seemed to shine its full light without any disturbances of its light (the stars), although he was slightly worried with the obvious red glowing around the edges. A red-ridged moon was certainly not as good sign.

But the quietness of the night, minus the constant chirps of crickets, completely washed away the little doubt growing in his heart. The exquire sighed in bliss. He then quickened his pace, glancing at the rows of the Japanese traditional shouji doors, the cat-lover knew that his friends were waiting for the potatoes to arrive in order to start their preparation for dinner.

The bald teen was happily observing the little but well-treated trees in the garden when he bumped into someone, "Ah gomen!", he apologized quickly, peeking around the round edge of the basket. His eyes widened in a fraction when he saw the blue-eyed teen gazing down at him curiously, "Konekomaru? Ah, we're just wondering what's taking you so long to deliver the potatoes", he grinned, flashing his sharp fangs which glinted under the light of the moon.

Konekomaru quickly averted his eyes, "Ah um, that's because it's hard to find the potatoes in the store room among all the other things", he offered a nervous smile, hoping his reason didn't sound too lame. But to his astonishment, he found that the huge basket was lifted from him easily. He looked up to the smiling face of the teen, "Okay then, let's hurry up to the kitchen! I can't wait to start cookiing the oden!", he shouted chanting oden, oden, oden, while dashing off with the basket balanced on his right shoulder.

"Ah matte!', he hurried after the blue-haired teen which was already disappearing to one of the opened sliding door.

"The potatoes have arrived!", Rin shouted excitedly, hurrying himself towards Shiemi and Izumo. Shiemi looked up from her attempted work to cut the meat, "Ah Rin!"

Rin put the basket in the table beside the girls just as Konekomaru came in, slightly panting.

The half-demon gently nudged Shiemi to the side, "Leave this to me! You two should just prepare the dining table!", He said enthusiastically, already was tying the apron behind his back. His black tail flicked around the laces to avoid itself getting tangled.

"Okay thank you, Rin", The blond haired girl smiled, relieved from being spared by the task of cutting the vegetables. She was never good in the kitchen in the first place, the solid proof of that self-degrading statement was the obvious mess laying shamelessly on the kitchen table. Izumo just huffed and followed the girl while muttering about 'bossing us around'

Konekomaru looked up to the two girls heading towards him, "Um, where's Bon and Shima?", he asked, his eyes searching for the presence of the two boys who normally were always somewhere near Rin.

"They're gathering some logs in the woods for the fireplace", Izumo answered. She was clad in a red yukata with soft yellow jonquil daffodils patterns scattered across her right breast down to her thigh. The fiery colour greatly enhanced her own red eyes, and her black long hair was clipped with two white sticks in a messy but still elegant way.

"Would like to help us preparing the table?", Shiemi offered, a smile on her face. The green-eyed girl had a simpler yukata, the colour was pure white with simple sakura swirling patterns on her right shoulders and her left hip. But apparently this style suited her better than the brighter shade Izumo had, considering her own humble and kind personality. Konekomaru glanced to the blue-haired who was whistling, tail wagging behind happily, "Will Okumura be fine preparing the dish on his own?"

"Un! Don't worry, Rin loves cooking! It's better if we don't bother him!", Shiemi reassured the teen. After another glance towards Rin who was already immersed in his cooking, Konekomaru left the room with Izumo and Shiemi.

Alone in the kitchen, the teen whistled while chopping the ingredients with ease. His hands moved dilligently from one piece to piece and threw them into the stove.

He formerly had protested with all his might when Mephisto suggested for them to spend their summer in a hot spring, but now when he was here, he found himself enjoying it. The main reason why he opposed the idea was not only because he had his holiday planned (mainly lazing around and hunted for manga everyday) but also the hot spring was located far deep inside the woods.

Although Rin wasn't a lazy kid (at least during physical activity), but the thought of venturing deep into a forest in the dead heat of summer days was not how he pictured his long-awaited holiday will be.

His thought was cut short when he felt a tap on his shoulder. The half-demon glanced behind over his shoulder, a little curious as to who had approached him without him noticing.

"Hm? What is it Yukio?", Rin asked, abandoning his cooking for a second to stare at the face of his younger brother.

"Do you need help with anything nii-san?", Yukio asked with a small smile in his lips. Rin shook his head and returned back to the stove to start preparing the seasoning, "Nah, I got this. You don't need to interfere, otherwise the taste of the food might turn out to be lower than my standard", he answered, with an obvious smug on his voice, "And one of my principal in life is to cook eveeerrrything, including oden, downright mouthwatering. And that, of course, means..", Rin glanced back to his twin with a smirk, "…edible." He focused back to the oden and threw some chopped daikon radish into the hot stove.

Yukio's eyebrow twitched, "Well, sorry for my rude offering for helping you nii-san and making your cooking less than adequate with my inexperienced hands…", Rin snickered at the slight sarcasm behind his brother's voice, ".. Because I thought that preparing dinner for a large group of people would be tough when you're working alone" Rin scoffed, thinking of how he could practically do any kind of challenge on cooking, "Well, you should probably consider the fact of how awesome the chef is, after all it's his specialty", Rin stated confidently, his tail swayed to the side and lightly slapped Yukio's thigh as if to emphasize his point.

"His only specialty", Yukio added, lips quirking into a smile when seeing his brother's tail jerked up abruptly cutting its leisure tempo of flicking left to right. "Jerk", he muttered, but still kept a gentle stir of the ladle. He couldn't deny that cooking was his only reproductive skill after all. Although he hated to admit it, he couldn't beat Yukio in an argument.

So he kinda ignored it when Yukio walked around the kitchen table while talking something about a cloudless night. He continued with his work promptly ignoring whatever Yukio was babbling about, and then he heard the sound of one of the shouji door being slided open.

"It seems that the view worth the long trek we endured during the whole day. Look, the moon is full tonight, nii-san. It's beautiful" At hearing his brother's rare cheerful voice, it definitely crumbled his resolve to do a silent treatment. Rin eventually gave up on his determination to ignore Yukio as a proof of his displeasure, looking up with the most unpleasant face he could muster in hope to tick Yukio off. Yukio was going to say his sorry to him no matter what.

But as he gazed up, cerulean blue orbs found themselves being presented with the view of an enormous entity. So bright, and the enchanting red ring circling the edges made him unable to look away. He was never a moon-gazing fan, but the moon, it's like beckoning at him, making him unable to rivert his gaze. The blue of his own eyes swirled slowly, reflecting the white glow of the moon as he gazed unblinkingly on the round brightness hanging in the black sky. Yukio's chatter went deaf on his ears as well as all the sounds around him.

_It's time_

And then something seemed to jerk inside of him, jolting him from the tip of his toes up to his head in a split second. It manifested itself to a terrible throbbing in his head. His vision gone white for a second and his little brother swore that he could see a brief flash of red in his twin's eyes.

Rin clutched his head in pain and his other arm struck the table, so hard that it toppled a bowl off clattering to the floor, to balance his body.

"Nii-san!", Yukio exclaimed in panick as he, in a flash, was beside his brother, putting his hand on his brother's arm in an attempt to support him, "Are you okay?"

Rin was silent for a moment, trying to clear the stars dancing in his vision, "Yeah, I'm okay", Rin pushed himself off the table, brushing off his twin's arm. He limped outside the Japanese-style room, out to the chill of the night in hope to cease the throbbing away.

He collapsed his weight to the railing facing the Zen Garden. His two hands grasped the scalp of his head to cease the pounding. He could hear the rythmic pulses on his ears, so loud like drums were playing an orchestra in his head.

"Nii-san", the soft voice of his brother sounded behind him before a warm arm wrapped around his chest, "Let's take you to the bed, and then I could do a thorough checking on you" Rin grunted, trying to weakly pry off his twin's hand from his body, "Hnnh, no need, it's nothing big", but the firm grip made him eventually gave up.

Yukio's gaze hardened, "It's not nothing! You suddenly just collapsed when doing your normal activity with no significant reason. Something must have gone wrong within your body!"

Rin once again stubbornly shook his head, "No, I'll just take a bath and it'll be okay. Yukio, you could help me prepare the oden right? It's nearly ready and you just need to add the meat, wait for it to be cooked completely and then put the fire off. You can do that much right?", Rin looked up to the angry, but laced with concern green orbs. "Really? Skipping dinner nii-san?", the spectacled teen gritted his teeth in irritation. His brother could be so adamant in times that sometimes made him want to explode with anger.

"Whoa whoa, calm down, you don't need to be so damn uptight about this Yukio! I'm a demon now so skipping a dinner once won't kill me!", he forced a weak smile before pushing his body upright ,"I'll just take a hot bath and then go straight to bed, sounds good to you, Mr Worrywart?"

Yukio sighed, he knew he couldn't push this topic anymore. His brother was practically a grown-up already and so was fully-capable of taking care himself. Although his subconscious was screaming for him to take his brother to rest on a bed, even by dragging him if necessary. The spectacled exorcist then finally released his arm from encircling his brother's chest, "I'll bring you something to eat, and you must be already in your room by that time", he gave a stern glare to his stubborn brother, promising a hard punishment if by any chance he found his brother was nowhere to be seen when he came to serve him dinner.

Taking that as a chance to flee from his over-protective brother, the older twin quickly rose up, "Will do!", shouted him, heading straight to the hot spring inside the inn. His mind wasn't as clouded as before but his head was still throbbing dully, making him curious at the sudden disappearance of the pain. He vaguely thought about the mysterious thought that popped from his mind, or was it a voice? He laughed mentally at that. The headache was probably from him walking all day in the burning heat of the sun. There was nothing weird about it.

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Shiemi poked out her head from the slightly ajar onsen door, glancing cautiously left to right. After confirming that there was no sign of any person in the long corridor, she breathed out in relief. She opened the door a little wider and then took a cautious step forward. Shiemi clutched the thin towel that barely covered her form and tugged nervously on the short end, trying to cover more of her exposed thighs.

The blond-haired girl mentally berated herself in her head. She should have brought her clothes but in her excitement of getting into an onsen for the first time, she had left it in her room. How stupid of her.

She started along the long hallway, fortunately her room was on the same floor of the onsen while the others' rooms were all below. Like that the chances of meeting anyone would be next to nil.

As she went passed the male onsen, the door suddenly slammed open and a figure emerged from the hot steam that hung thickly in the air.

As if on cue, Shiemi shrieked automatically, making the oblivious person who had just walked out from his refreshing bath nearly jumped out of his skin.

Wide blue eyes locked gazes with the pair of green orbs of which face's burned bright red.

"Shiemi?", Rin let out a breath he didn't know was holding at seeing the familiar face. He had seriously thought that a demon had somehow infiltrated the barrier-sealed inn, "What are-", his eyes then traveled downwards before his face flushed a deep shade of red.

The blond girl just stood there, didn't know what to say because her lips trembled like crazy and her legs suddenly felt powerless of all the mortification. She was absolutely self-conscious of what her situation was. A half naked girl standing in a dark empty hallway with a boy, and not just any boy, it was Rin! The last person on this whole earth she was willing to show her badside was! If only Izumo was here than she wouldn't have to face the humiliaty alone. But the girl had refused to bath in an onsen and chose to take a quick shower instead, indirectly leading to the situation she was now in. She had never felt of wanting to dissapear into the floor this much in her life.

A pale strip of light of the moon slowly seeped from an open window, illuminating the floor on the trembling girl's feet. The fine light spreaded to her toes, up to her barely covered thighs, to the smooth skin of her shoulders and finally illuminated her flushed face.

The half demon gulped, feeling thirsty all of a sudden. He had thought that Shiemi was beautiful and her boobs were beyond imagination. Yes he would admit that he was attracted to the blond-haired girl. But tonight, he was sure that what he felt towards the girl was beyond a mere crush. He let his eyes wandered over the scarcely-clad young girl, savoring the sight with hunger he had never felt before in his life. What a fine specimen of woman, she sure looked unconsciously licked his lips. Yes he was thirsty, and he was almost sure that what he wanted was more than mere water

"A Ano, Ri Rin.. I just.. clothes.. forget... m my room. S-so could you please stop staring at me like that!", Shiemi's timid voice stammered, her lips quivering. When she heard no answer being uttered by the boy in front of her, she forced her eyes up to stare at the teen.

At first, her breath hitched when she found that Rin was staring at her deeply, his normally clear blue eyes were dark and hard, intensely glued to her form. The blue orbs seemed hungry and were staring at her like she was a piece of meat.

A split second later, Shiemi found herself being tackled to the floor, her wrists were pinned over her head with brute force. Sharp claws digged into the soft skin, making the girl winced as thin trails of blood started to trickled down, staining the wooden floor with dark red beads.

Wide emerald eyes looked up fearfully, finding themselves locked gazes with the most terrifying orbs she had ever seen in her life. Piercing bloody red, glowing like a pair of demon's eyes.

_It's time_

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Warning: Lemon on later chapter.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think, being it as an appreaciation or a constructive criticism ^.^

~Golden Mist Fox


	2. LoveLess 2: Revelation

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed**

Summary: Once a year, in the night where a red-ringed moon hang on a starless sky, demons experience strong desires to mate with anyone in their sight, and the son of Satan is no exception. Can he overcome his lust or will he submit to it? RinXYukio

Hello readers, here is this the second chapter of LoveLess, it came pretty fast eh? I am actually quite proud of being able to post this fast, when normally it took me weeks to even finish a chapter. Well it's here anyway, please read and enjoy it!

Warning: none, not yet, keep your drools in people:D

Please R&R

**LoveLess**  
><strong>Chapter 2 : Revelation<strong>

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This was not how Yukio expected his evening would be.

He had had done what his elder brother asked of him, he had prepared the oden and served them to the rest of his students. Shiemi was the first to finish, next came Yukio.

He had rushed to the kitchen and prepared some onigiri stuffed with katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) seasoned with soy sauce and a bowl of a hot steaming oden for his brother. He was on his way to his twin's bedroom when he heard a scream, which sounded awfully a lot like his blond-haired student.

Which it was.

Yukio pinched the bridge of his nose, his back was leaning on the rim of the shouji door. Of his twin's room. The aura was thick with apprehension, not more than few sentences had been shared among the teacher and the exquires after Shura had practically dragged a completely wild Rin into his room. There'd been screaming, growling, and any other sounds that humans shouldn't be capable of making that shook the very air around them ever since the time.

But now only silence and Bon's shoes' constant clicks that accompanied their anxious waiting in the dim hallway.

"Okumura-sensei", a hesitant voice called out to the disgruntled teacher. He looked up to the source of the voice, locking his eyes with his pink-haired student who was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, "Um, I just want to know... if... Okumura, is he... alright?", Shima looked nervously to the exorcist, whom had a sliver of displeasure in his green orbs.

He knew it was a bad idea to be the first one to break the silence by enquiring a question to his teacher, who looked absolutely homicidal, but he couldn't help but worrying about his friend. The look of uncanny bestiality he had seen in those normally bright but friendly eyes was certainly the solid proof that there's something wrong with his demon friend.

Yukio forced a fake smile to lift up the corner of his lips, "Yes, he should be. Shura-sensei would definitely handle him better than any of us. He will be alright" He must be alright.

"Taku", the grim voice of Bon piped in, "What was that idiot Okumura thinking? I know that he's a screwed-up kid from the first time I set my eyes on him. But to jump on Shiemi like that...", he whispered the last part quietly, eyes glaring at the door's room expecting it to slam open or something. Although they had been there for like 40 minutes or so.

Konekomaru was only staring at the floor intently, his face was a mixture of confusion disbelief and worry. When he was trailing an imaginative line on the smooth wooden door with his finger, the door creaked open.

All four set of eyes instantly looked up to stare at the figure of the other exorcist teacher. Shura stepped out of the shouji and slid it close. The curvaceous woman looked up to the expectant faces of friends and family of one Okumura Rin, her eyes slightly tired and her face grim.

Yukio let his eyes scanned over the slouched form of the woman, his face mimicked the look of mild surprise as he noted the damage on the woman's body.

Shura's right shoulder was caked with dry blood, lines of red marred the skin of her arms. There were several claw-like marks on her thigh, abdomen and upper limbs. From the sight of it, some looked pretty deep with fresh red wounds. Angry red marks of burn scorched several areas of her skin, some looked mild while a little of them seemed serious. Her clothes looked pretty fine (there's not much to begin with) except for some little rips here and there.

Shura settled her gaze to Yukio, "Man, yer brother is insane", a glare, "He keeps on attempting to jump me all the while. But poor him, It's a thousand years too early for an underage kid to even think of pounding his punny dick into my pussy." the exquires blushed at the shameless words, "And I beat him good"

"Beat him?", Konekomaru exclaimed meekly. He knew that what had the demon boy done was not in any way acceptable, but a small part of him insisted on the fact that it was somehow not Rin's fault. That it wasn't his fault when he practically tried to rape the poor girl in the middle of the hallway.

"Relax, I only gave him a blow to his guts to keep him down, long enough for me to chain him to bed", Shura smirked triumphantly, spinning a silver key in her finger.

The long-haired woman pocketed back the key and put her hand on her hips. Then she directed her gaze to Yukio, straight and hard. The look of dead seriousness which was rare to be seen on the brash woman made him straightened his back immediately. He mirrored the woman's expression, focusing his absolute attention to the exorcist.

Shura flicked her head slightly, then started towards the small stairs leading to the Zen Garden.

Without further ado, Yukio quickly followed her.

"Hey where you two are going?", Bon yelled indignantly, abruptly stood erect from his previous leaning position, "We wanna know what's going on with Okumura too!"

Shura bent her head over her shoulder, "Shut up, yer snotty brats have nothing to do in grown-ups ' discussion. Yer try to follow the both of us...", she left the sentence at that and proceded forward without waiting for an answer.

Shima gave a short laugh, "But Okumura-sensei is about the same age as us. But I guess his exorcist pedigree does make up for it though. Just leave them Bon"

"But..."

"Shima's right", Konekomaru piped in, "As long as Rin is okay, we don't need to exactly know what is wrong with him." He offered a small smile to Bon's furious face, "Maybe it's for his own sake that this matter is to be kept a secret from unauthenticated people, like us", Konekomaru riveted his gaze back to the floor.

"Although... although I wish I could do more for him. As his friend, I mean", Konekomaru stared back to his two friends, his face was contorted to something akin to strained smile.

Bon and Shima kept silent. They both know what would be their obvious response to the cat lover's remark.

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When Yukio finally catched up on the woman's long strides, he found her to be sitting in a small tiered fountain. The curvy woman seemed to be occupied with her inspection on the cold water filling the marble tub, feeling its elusive texture as she dragged her finger across the water.

Yukio stopped several metres in front of her, the woman's unresponsive attitude at his arrival prompted him to keep his distance. After standing for a while and saw that Shura had no intention of starting the conversation, Yukio took it as his own iniation.

"Kirigakure sensei"

Shura gave no indication that she had heard it when Yukio called out her name, choosing to keep her attention to the particular architecture.

Yukio's gaze hardened, he repeated back the name with extra emphasization, "Kirigakure-sen-

"Do yer remember about the incident that happened on a night like this? Yer know, the one where yer cried when the old man had snapped on yer for the first time?"

The teen blinked at the unexpected turn of conversation, "What?", he frowned at the woman, "Yes I do remember, what has that gotten to do with Rin?"

"What do yer remember?", Shura asked quietly, running a nonchalant finger on the smooth surface of the clear marble.

Yukio answered the question smoothly, having absolutely no trouble in recalling the past, "That night, I went sneaking out of home to find Rin who was not yet home, although Father had strictly forbid me not to go out on my own, especially on that particular day. I defied him, thinking that his over-protectiveness was not necessary as I had gone out a couple of times", Yukio fixed his glasses, "And then when I wandered near the edge of a park, I saw a female demon laying behind a bush, well a bloody corpse to be exact. Frightened, I turned back running and crossed path with a demon, whom was probably responsible for the gruesome killing of the demonness as his claws and fangs were red with blood", Yukio finished his brief reminiscent of the past.

He tried to briefly connect the similar pieces, "Did that male demon is in the similar circumstances as Rin is?"

This time, Shura did face Yukio, "Loveless Night", she drawled out grimly.

Yukio blinked his eyes in confusion, okay he had totally lost it now. Why did Shura need to go in circles for this when she normally got everything to the point!

Shura didn't pause to allow Yukio to contemplate the meaning of the new term, "Once a year, a demon experiences a strong need to mate with any female demon in their sight, although some stronger demons are able to control the urgings. Yer could say it's similar to a mating season for demons. But unfortunately for Rin who had just recently turned to a demon... it maybe just too much for him to control the lust"

The spectacled exorcist frowned,"Then why was Rin allowed to go to a trip among the students then?", he pointed out.

"We didn't think that the red moon would affect him much, considering he is just a half-demon. But the assumption apparently went completely the opposite. Rin is a half-demon, and so his control is half of that of a full-demon", Shura lifted her eyes to stare at Yukio's green eyes, which were swirling with undeniable confusion.

Shura decided to continue with the last bit, and the most important information, "But, this mating season for demons doesn't go like the one for animals. Animals' purpose of mating are to produce new offsprings as to not let their kinds go extinct. But this isn't the case for demons. They mate because of lust, to fulfill their hunger of uncontrollable sexual needs. There's no other purpose other than to ravish the female partner senselessly", Shura eyed Yukio intently, "And this often resulted in serious injuries or even death in the female part."

The woman straigtened her posture, pink eyes were filled with uncharacteristic seriousness, "There's no love in the act", the female exorcist summarised, "And thus receiving the name of Loveless Night"

Yukio set his eyes to the ground, thoughts went racing in his head. When he finally came into one, he spoke it out, "Why haven't I ever heard of this? This kind of day where demons could turn into such barbaric state should be taught in the exorcism class", the exorcist inquired.

Shura shrugged, "Well don't ask me, I ain't responsible with any of the curriculum, nor do I care. I suppose that because most demons retreat to Gehenna on this day, the danger of the demons roaming at night on this day is automatically decreases. And so there's no need for it to be taught in classes as the purpose of exorcism is to annihilate demons. I guess that last bit of knowledge is gained through experience."

Shura stretched her arms above her head, yawning noisily, "Well that's basically it. Man, it was such a drag of having to explain everything to a junior! I'd rather undergo a demon slaying mission than to deal with this kind of shit", she grinned cheekily at Yukio, "Yer should feel honored of having me personally teach yer this kind of troublesome topic."

"Thank you Kirigakure-sensei", Yukio thanked the woman without any hesitation.

Shura clicked her tongue and wrinkled her face, "Che, yer no fun! Yer shouldn't comply that easily!", she waved her arms upwards as if exasperated, "It's much more interesting talking to the younger yer where yer are all about beating me and teaching me a lesson!"

She turned tail and headed towards the inn, "Well I'm off for a shower. That kid had totally worked me up", she muttered unplesantly about male demon kid in puberty and how they need to work it off without causing so much trouble to poor chaperone teachers.

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"Thank you Izumo-chan", Shiemi accepted the cup of hot green tea. She brought it up to her mouth and sipped the clear green liquid, sighing contently at the warm feeling washing over her throat.

A polite knock sounded at the door, startling both girls who were enjoying the silence of the third floor, as they were the only inhabitants of the quiet floor. "Come in.", Izumo said, loud enough to be heard by whomever was outside. The door slided open slowly, and Yukio stepped inside of the little room,shutting the shouji back after his tall frame had entered the room.

"Ah Yuki-chan!", Shiemi greeted excitedly, putting the cup of tea in the table beside her bed, "What brings you here?" Yukio smiled back and answered, "Just making sure that everything is okay. Do you feel better now?"

"Un! Thanks to Izumo-chan who has accompanied me all this time!", the ever cheerful girl grinned brightly.

Izumo blushed, "It's not like that baka! I'm here not because of you, don't be over confident."

Shiemi just blinked, "Then because of what Izumo-chan?"

"Eh, um, it's uh... I because... just because I want to be here!", Izumo spluttered and finished lamely.

"Because there is me in here right?"

Yukio saved the poor pigtailed girl of further awkward embarrassment by calling the name of the blond-haired girl, "Shiemi"

"Nani?", Shiemi looked up to Yukio, her innocent face made the exorcist teacher hesitant to utter this one question. He looked her dead in the eyes anyway, "Do you hate Rin?"

He waited with baited breath but soon found that his apprehension was all for nothing as Shiemi burst out laughing. "What's so funny?", Yukio asked again, obviously perplexed.

Shiemi clutched her stomach in her laughter, tears or mirth were running down the side of her eyes, "Ahahahaha, I'm sorry Yuki-chan!", she wiped her tears and looked at the exorcist, "It's just that you're just so silly, for asking a question like that. Of course I don't hate Rin", she smiled earnestly, "He might have been a little weird back then but I'm sure Rin didn't mean what he did. He must have a reason for that."

Yukio stood there, stunned. He had thought that Shiemi would probably be disgusted to Rin and Rin would lose the first friend he ever had because of the incident. He certainly hadn't thought that the girl would be denying his assumption with all of the sincerity of her voice.

Yukio then returned the smile.

"Thank you Shiemi, for believing in Rin..."

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"What?", a hysteric voice broke into the quietness of the night, "No yer can't! Yer absolutely can't!", the person waved her arms wildly.

"But nii-san-

"He would be fine in there! He's _perfectly_ fine in there by himself! In fact yer would be the one getting his ass kicked if yer be in the same room as he is!", Shura yelled to the face of one perplexed Yukio.

"But someone needs to keep an eye on him, in case he do something stupid and dangerous in order to break free", Yukio tried to explain calmly to an absolutely frantic Shura. His request was simple, it's just for him to stay in the same room as his brother, to make sure he's alright. But Shura was making a big fuss out of this.

Shura's eyebrows twitched, "Who cares about keeping an eye? I have attached a special seal on the chain which prevents any kind of demon of breaking free! Anyway it's too dangerous! And I don't want to deal with all the paperworks about being the one responsible of the death of an underage exorcist!", she roared in barely restrained anger. They had been going on and on about this for quite some time and it was starting to piss her off.

"I won't be killed that easily, you should know that Kirigakure-sensei. I'll go in no matter what you said", Yukio ended the conversation by walking past Shura. But the voluptuous woman gripped his shoulder, preventing him from taking any other step. Shura glared at Yukio through the rim of her bangs, "Do yer even know what yer getting yourself into? Do yer fuckin' understand about what he is capable of? It took me over half-an-hour to knock him down and I also got special extra packages for it too.", she flicked her eyes briefly to the generous amount of bandages that wrapped around her form.

She riveted her gaze back, her eyes boring a hole to the teen's, "He could kill yer in a matter of seconds, Yukio. While I'm pretty confident on my sealing skills, there's no guarantee that it will keep him down through the night.", Shura gritted her teeth to restrain herself from yelling out loud some common sense to the stubborn teen's ears, "Why do _you_ keep on insisting in being in the same room as him, Yukio?" The lack of use of the slang word, Yukio noted, indicated that she was serious in this.

But nonetheless, Yukio returned the glare, "Because he _needs_ me in there Shura. My brother needs someone to comfort him, and the most logical someone there is would be _me_" Shura was momentarily taken aback when she heard the use of her first name. But more so when seeing the pair of green orbs. They swirled with so much emotion, and the most distinct one was concern, for his brother. He was worried for his brother, and that feeling effectively crushed the fact that his brother could be a lethal danger for him.

Shura sighed, closing of her eyes in defeat and let go her steel grip on the boy's shoulder, "If anything happens, just scream. I'll be two rooms over", she said monotonely, walking away from Yukio without looking back.

Yukio fixed the crumpled fabric of his shoulder, frowning when it refused to smooth down. Huh, Shura must be dead serious about it eh? Yukio started towards the room of his brother. But he was also serious about this. Them, being twins, made Yukio could feel the distress that wafted off Rin in waves, and he determined to be the one who would help to ease that negative emotion.

He then reached inside his exorcist coat pocket, pulling out a small object. He fingered it casually, feeling the slightly rusted texture of an old bronze key. He eyed it intently before putting it back inside, straightening his back as he quickened his pace.

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"Nii-san?", Yukio called out, peeking his eyes into the dark room of his twin's. He almost could see nothing and this situation made him promptly wondered if his brother was really in there.

"Go away Yukio", a hoarse voice snapped from the darkness. Yukio squinted his eyes and finally able to make out the curled form of a body on the bed located in the far end of the room. He welcomed himself in and slided the door shut.

He took some time to adapt to the darkness before walking quietly towards his elder brother.

The younger twin stopped in front of the bed, keeping a safe distance just in case Rin had a sudden urge to lash his claws at him, "Nii-san", he called again.

"I said _GO AWAY YUKIO_!", Rin practically roared and Yukio was mildly surprised at seeing the growl-laced voice just then. He could sense the anger and fury in his brother's voice, the indignation of failing to keep something from happening that he knew all too well. But he could also detect a faint hint of desperation and sadness, the longing to be comforted and assured that everything was alright. He knew by then that his brother was still the same old Rin.

Rin tensed a little when he felt a slight depression on his bed, obvious sign that his younger brother had sat on his bed. He wanted to yell at him to leave him alone but he found himself couldn't. In fact, he was glad to find that his brother was there beside of him. In the deepest part of his heart, he wished to be comforted by Yukio.

Then he felt the slightest touch on the small of his back, he widened his eyes when that slightest touch felt like an electricity was coursing through him. He felt hot all of a sudden and his body was pulsing with need. He hissed wildly, and started to trash in the bed, forcing Yukio to get off.

Rin then crouched on his bed, all the while yanking at the chain that encircled his right hand. He growled and directed his gaze to the face of his brother. A pair of glowing red orbs were the sight that greeted the green eyes of the younger twin, fangs were bared like a wild animal.

Yukio stared, completely shocked at how the simplest touch could turn his brother into a lustful beast. "Nii-san", he whispered out.

The voice of Yukio must had snapped Rin off from his bestial state as he clenched his red eyes of his shut. When he opened them again, they had turned back to the normal blue. He collapsed face-first to his bed, obviously tired from all of the straining. After a few seconds, he let out a dry chuckle, "Shiemi must have hated me for that right?", it was more of a statement than a question.

Although Rin couldn't see him, Yukio shook his head, "She doesn't blame you nii-san"

"Really? Then I'm glad"

Silence accompanied both brothers as neither of them spoke up anymore.

When Rin felt that he could finally went to sleep, the horrible pain came again. He let out a pained-roar and trashed in the bed. The chain that was covering the skin of his wrist had bleed out severely from all the fierce tugging. Yukio watched, feeling absolutely useless as he could do nothing to comfort his brother. He wanted to touch his twin in order to ease his pain a bit but he knew it's only make things worse.

The pain course had attacked again and again, until Yukio couldn't stand it anymore.

"Nii-san, please stop. It must have hurt", he pleaded, eyes observing the blood-drenched wrist of his twin's. By now the bed sheets had even become red from all the blood that made Yukio worried that his brother would bleed himself to death.

Rin just laughed bitterly, "I would if I could. The pain is just horrible you know, and I'm not talking about the wound on my wrist."

Rin directed his gaze to Yukio, "You know, there are these voices that keep on telling me to pin someone down and fuck her on the spot. And they are so persistent as to give me these pain and lust feeling that I couldn't control myself anymore", he offered a small smile, "I can't believe myself saying this, but at this point, I really want to fuck you Yukio. Gross eh?"

Yukio looked at his brother, perplexed, before lowering his bangs down. And then he walked closer until his knees nearly touched the bed.

"Yukio?", Rin tried to peer behind the bangs but found nothing.

Yukio rummaged through his exorcist coat and then pulled out a gun. Rin's eyes widened as Yukio directed it straightly to him. He lifted his eyes back to his brother's and was met with the iciest look he had ever seen on those green eyes.

What hurt him most wasn't the feeling that he was facing the trigger of his death, but the fact that Yukio hated him enough to be able to point a gun at him. So Yukio was disgusted to him after all, Rin remarked driedly in his mind. Or it was that his brother found his existance was far too dangerous for the sake of the safety of many people.

_If Yukio had found his life not worth living anymore, then..._

When he heard the sound of the gun being cocked, Rin closed his eyes and proped himself up on the bed, so he could face his death with his head held high.

_So be it..._

**Bam!**

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.

.

He had expected the pain, and so had gritted his teeth to keep himself from yelling out loud.

After the sound of the gun had rung, he braced himself.

But not the slightest bit of it came.

Instead he felt his gums had started to stiffen from all the clenching. Were dead people supposed to be able to feel stiffness?

Rin finally dared to open his eyes and noted with disbelief that he was still sitting on the bed of his room.

"Huh?", he inquired confusedly and then looked up to his brother. Yukio's gun was still pointed at him and from the smoke filing out of the round hole, he confirmed that Yukio had indeed fired his hand gun. But to where...

He roamed his eyes to try find the source of the bullet that was released just moments ago, and finally found it, imbedded at the chained encircling his wrist. Or more like _was_. He directed a confused gaze towards his younger brother, "Wha… What are you doing Yukio?", he spluttered, backing away slightly to the wall behind him, "Why did you release me? We both don't know when I will snap again, and if I do, I could probably attack you! Go get Shura or someone to put it back!", the demon boy hissed urgently in both anger and fear as he backed away some more, afraid to what he would probably do to his little brother should he have any other attack, which could probably come soon.

When not a movement was made by his little brother, he continued a little louder, his voice was desperate and pleading, "Don't you hear what I've just said? I said that my body is dying for some release that I feel like wanting to fuck my own little brother senselessly!"

Yukio finally lowered down his gun, his topaz eyes were directed towards the slightly trembling form of his twin. Unwavering and determined.

"Then do so nii-san", the soft whisper of Yukio was barely audible in the quietness of the room.

Rin looked up confusedly, "Huh? What did you say?"

"I said", Yukio said a little louder, "Do fuck me senselessly, as you brilliantly put it nii-san, if that'll make you feel better"

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Yay we love cliffhanger! *a chair come flying and successfully collides* Sorry, what I meant is I'm really sorry to put it at a stop like that, I really do. I know you girls know *are there guys here?* what kind of scene that will come in next. As this is my first time writing lemon, I'm kinda disheartened to what the next chapter would be. Reviews would certainly help- *a table soars, and barely misses* But don't worry! It'll definitely come! :D

Please review and tell me what you think:) I really appreciate them as they give me confidence to write more! XD

~Golden Mist Fox


	3. LoveLess 3: Reasons

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed**

Welcome back my dear readers! I thank all of you who have reviewed, I really appreciate EACH AND EVERY of them:)

Please do enjoy the chapter! XD

**LoveLess**  
><strong>Chapter 3: Reasons<strong>

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The shouji slided open and Shura stalked in, with an obvious scowl setting on the already grim face. The young exquires gathering around the single bed of one Moriyama Shiemi instantly looked up, faces contorting in curiosity at seeing the normally annoyingly happy sensei of theirs now looked as if someone had stole her last can of liquor which had practically became one of her necessity in life.

"That mother-fucker ungrateful piece of shit", the woman grumbled vehemently, "If he so much as to come out of there with his sorry butt on fire, I'll rip the goddamn twin buttocks off and shoved them into his throat and out of his nose!", she swore hotly. The bright-haired woman secured a chair roughly and flopped down, back facing the gathering exquires.

Awkward silence surrounded the room like a choking miasma, none dare opening their mouths.

Finally, Shima decided to once again cast aside the warning bell ringing in his head and bravely be the spokesperson of the five of them, "Um, Kirigakure-sensei?"

"What?", she snapped, palpable fury was steaming out from that one word.

Shima sucked a nervous breath, ignoring his screaming conscience he continued, "Ano, who did you just say would do what?", he asked, somewhat dumbly.

Without wasting a second, Shura's voice flowed out hotly after the question, "Just forget about that fucking idiot. Either we find fresh pieces of him tomorrow, or a nice- grilled version with glasses-maybe-or-not intact. Counting this and that, he is as good as dead!"

"Huh?"

Shura sighed before smirking, facing the group of expectant teens. Wonder what their faces would be when she told them that- "Yer teach is oh so chivalrously accompanying Rin in his room alone. I'll eat my own shit if he manages to come out of there without becoming a puddle of bloody goo next morning."

Shura's grin nearly split her face at seeing her students' expressions, oh how they were priceless! But soon the curvaceous woman found herself nearly turned deaf from the outbursts of rage that soon greeted her proclamation.

"NAANNNIIIII?"

She cringed. It might not be the best idea for her own health to just dump the outrageous information after all.

"No… Yuki-chan…

"Why would Okumura-sensei…

"Although he's our teacher, I can say that what he did…

"He couldn't be… Okumura-kun might attack him…

"Whoo! Go at it sensei until he couldn't keep his eyes open and eventually fall to the land of dreams!"

All eyes turned towards the only pink hair in the room, wide-eyed and absolutely perplexed.

Shura's eyebrows shot up in interest, could he possibly know? Well, there's only one way to find out, "At 'it' as in what 'it' Shima-kun?", she trailed in her sweetest voice. At her question the rest of the gang blushed bright red.

Shima put a hand behind his back sheepishly, "Well what else could it be? Of course it's some nice and relaxing bedtime stories!"

All heads that turned towards him looked utterly dumbfounded. Bon, whose got the loudest mouth among them, rendered speechless and at lost for proper responses at his friend's 'smart' and ridiculously innocent remark. Shura, in the other hand, just released a small sigh of disappointment. Damn, be more creative!

Two minutes later... "And", Izumo said, "What makes you think that a professional exorcist teacher would consider reading a bed-time story to a practically grown-up teenage boy?"

Shima blinked.

"Um… Because they're brothers?", silence greeted one nervous Shima.

"Or", Shima racked his brain, "Uh.. Man's intuition?" In the situation, one could even hear the sound of a needle falling to the floor from a room over.

He sweatdropped, "Hey, why does everyone take this so seriously anyway? It's a joke!", he gestured wildly, "Geez, I said those things because you guys look so tense! Relax!", Shima laughed nervously under all the pairs of eyes who looked as if they wanted to incinerate him on the spot.

Bon's eyebrow twitched, "Well if it's a joke than it's not even funny! This is no time for some stupid joke! ("But that's my best shot", Shima grumbled) And why the hell are we discussing this right now, we need to save Okumura-sensei or else he might end up a fried-fish like Kirigakure-sensei said!", he rose up and the other exquires, even Shiemi, followed his example.

Shura quickly stood up, "Woah woah, easy there easy!", she stood between them and the door, waving her hands in defense, "First, there's no one that need saving. And second, he decided this by himself, barged in there by himself, and locked it by himself! The thing is, it's HIS own damn decision! And third...", Shura scanned her gaze over her students, "...your attempt is, by no means of offense, is useless!"

Bon furrowed his eyebrows, "How can you say it's useless when we haven't even tri-

"That's because I already have yer dumbass!"

Relief flooded Bon's face, "Then there's nothing to be worried of."

Shura sighed, _'Oh there's a lot of things to be worried of believe me'_ "What I meant is that I've already tried to check up on him and failed. The door didn't even fucking move _half_ a millimeter"

The blonde-streaked haired teen wrinkled his face in confusion, "Even if the door's locked you should be able to break through right?"

Shura slapped her forehead.

"Ano", a soft voice said, "I think what Kirigakure-sensei said is that Yuki-chan has placed a barrier seal around the room. So brute force won't be able to break it"

"Ting Tong! And the winner goes to Ms Blondie! Everyone claps!", Shura exclaimed in mock cheer when all she felt was extreme exasperation. Really, what did they learn in those cram classes anyway? Noses were stuck into those thick eye-killer manual of demon exorcism all day long and they couldn't even guess the simplest of question!

Konekomaru fiddled his fingers nervously over his lap before asking the ultimate question for every curious exquire, "But... Why would Okumura-sensei do that? When his decision to stay inside Okumura's room could endanger his safety?"

Shura stopped her streaming thoughts for picking out the reason for her students' stupidity, her pink eyes lifted up and locked into the bald teen's ones, "I don't know... I really don't know", she shook her head before turning it towards the corner where the floor and the wall met, 1 room down and 5 rooms over, where Rin and Yukio stayed together absolutely alone, doing God's-know-what.

"Guess we can just stay put and wait 'till morning eh? Then we'll beat out the answer out of him by then..."

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Rin had been engaged in many fights in his life. Too many that he had lost count of them from a long time ago. From oral-fights with spoiled kids who thought they're better than any other people, down to all-out brawls with delinquents which he accepted just for the hell of it. He had tasted them all and still walked out with his sanity in his hand.

But never, _never _in all those long list of fights where he got numerous beating that proved fatal to his head, had he ever found himself in a situation where his mind was totally and completely shutted-down.

No it's not because he lose a debate with any damn rich kid and walked with his tail between his legs.

And _no_ he didn't get hit dead on the head with a hammer and experienced a major concussion because of it.

And _no_ he hadn't just got rejected by a girl and she broke his heart into a million of uncountable pieces.

Ironically, it's just the complete opposite.

Rin sat on his bed, mouth gaped open before closing, opening and soon closing again. It was completely understandable because the poor boy had just got the shock of his life just a moment ago. And the reason for that was standing right in front of him, waiting for the boy's response when he had none in his pocket. Simply because his brain's soul had just been squeezed mercilessly and deported to the land-of-complete-mind-destruction.

Courtesy of one simple and shameless sentence.

The clock ticked seconds by seconds, irritatingly audible because every second rhythmed with the process of closing and opening of Rin's mouth.

Yukio chuckled, "Nii-san, you look like a fish. If you keep on doing that, a fly might fly in you know."

Rin blinked before reality slammed back into him. His blue eyes became fierce in a split of second, "You", he growled with gritted teeth, "How could you say that!"

Yukio just tilted his head slightly to the side, a knowing smile on his lips, "Because if a fly flies into your mouth, you could become sick brother. Even elementary kids are aware of this fact" His smile brighten when Rin visibly shook in anger on his bed, his black tail swishing madly from side to side.

"Not that you idiot! The one before that!"

"Hm, let's see…", Yukio tapped his finger on his chin, blue-green eyes swirled mischievously and a teasing smile danced on his lips, "The one where I said you could fuck me up in any way you like?"

Yukio smirked when his elder brother blushed tomato red and tried to hide his steaming face into the safety of his propped-up knees, "Don't say it out loud baka! How could you say that without feeling embarassed anyway?", his angry voice was muffled as his face was buried into his knees.

The brunette's playful gesture suddenly disappeared, leaving behind the pair of lips set in the barest hint of a smile.

"Because I meant it nii-san.", a soft voice reached Rin's red ears, "I meant every word that I said". Rin was surprised when he heard there was no trace of doubt in the clear voice, it was firm and unwavering. He finally lifted his head and stared at the face of his little brother. Although the room was pitch black, his enhanced demonic vision provided him a clear vision of his twin's face.

The boy's green eyes stared back at him with determination. Rin widened his own eyes as realization slammed into him.

He was serious... Those eyes were serious... At first he thought that his twin was just trying to help him to relieve up some stress by throwing some random sick joke. But no, apparently his little brother meant it more that that... Much more than that...

A few seconds of silence before the elder twin opened his dry lips, "Why?", Rin whispered, nearly inaudible.

But Yukio knew what the question was even before it was uttered, "Because I couldn't bear to see you in pain anymore nii-san", he whispered, equally as soft, "If I can help in any way, I will gladly do it."

Rin sucked in a breath, but his face was soon replaced with anger, "Don't play with me Yukio", he hissed, eyes were a piercing pair of blue ice, "Do you expect me to believe all those pretty words crap? Do you even know what you're saying?", his voice rose a notch, "The whole thing about me fucking you could have gotten me to hurt you Yukio!", he screamed in pure anger.

Yukio just observed his twin quietly as Rin huffed in and out harshly, black-blue bangs were covering half of his face, "I could kill you...", he whispered quietly.

The exorcist's green eyes were devoid of any emotion as he quietly rummaged inside his pocket, drawing out a little object.

"Nii-san"

At first, Rin refused to lift his head but after a few moment of silence he decided that a peek wouldn't hurt him. He stared up, and his gaze was immediately drawn to the little object in his twin's fingers.

A key.

He furrowed his brows, before realization was set in his eyes, "That's..."

Yukio nodded his head, "Yes, this was from when we were still little kids, back when we were being held hostage by a gang of criminals-on-the-run, partially because we discovered their hide-out accidentally and partially because they held a grudge against father. The police gave us the key of the deserted storehouse as a reward for our bravery", he said while eyeing a rusty old key which was hanging on a tiny red pouch of luck charm. Rin briefly wondered where was Yukio taking the conversation to, they're debating about committing the act of an incestuous relationship and now it steered to some childhood memory?

The brunette directed his gaze back to his listening twin, "The delinquents told us that father would come to rescue us and when he did, they would beat him half-dead. Because we feared for the safety of our father, we decided to escape by the little window that was located high up in the ceiling. It wasn't quite a problem for you considering you're stronger and braver than normal kids and you've climbed trees that are far higher than the window itself..."

"But I wasn't", he chuckled, "At that time I was only a scaredy-four-eyed kid that would always run crying to his big brother. I was weak, independent, and a coward", Rin was actually quite taken aback at hearing those proclamation, because over the years Yukio had grown to be quite a proud young man that refused to admit his weaknesses he had during his childhood years. Yukio still continued his little reminiscence, "When I was finally able to reach the window, I was horrified at seeing how high we were from the ground. My hands were shaking and I couldn't even move my legs, I even peed a little in my pants", Yukio smiled when hearing his brother gave a snort of laughter.

"But even so, we managed to escape and ran to get the police. Do you know why I was able to gather my courage and jump down?", Yukio climbed onto the bed as Rin flinched away more from his younger brother, "Eventhough I was such a coward?", Yukio fixed his gaze dead to Rin's eyes, and Rin found himself couldn't look away from the intense topaz eyes.

"Because when you encouraged me that I can do it, I trusted you. I trusted what you said and the words that came off your lips. I trusted that when I fell down from that height, you would definitely catch me. I trusted that you wouldn't let me get hurt", Rin listened in mild disbelief at the words that spilled out his twin's lips and the serene green orbs, "I trust you...", Yukio whispered softly, but the words that he said were strong and was devoid of any doubt. It's what he believed years ago, and still until this point.

Yukio waited for a while and sighed. From all the long speech he just gave, his twin just stared at him dumbly. Guess he needed to get to the next step. He removed his glasses and placed it on the lamp-table. Next he shrugged out his heavy exorcist overcoat and started to fold it nicely.

"Wha...", Rin began, "What are you doing?"

"Well, I've said my reason and am preparing for what is about to come", he said calmly and put the folded piece of garment next to his glasses. He finally looked at Rin, "Now it's your turn nii-san"

Rin blushed, "Huh? Wh- What do I do?"

Yukio finally produced a tick mark on his forehead. He was a patient man, yes, but there was an end-line of where his string of patience could stretch, "What else? Fuck me, baka!" He gritted his teeth when all his brother did was just blushed harder. Then he reached behind him, securing the thick fabric of the dark-colored curtain.

Rin widened his eyes, "Wait! If you open that I'll-

Too late. The curtains were slided open and light spilled inside the room with its blinding glare. But why did Okumura Rin fear a mere ray of illumination? Because this wasn't just any light, it was from the Red Moon's light of the infamous Loveless Night, the kind that was believed to be the demons' date of mass hecatomb in the name of _love_. In other words, it enhanced any demon's lust to its highest peak and Rin was no exception.

"No... fair...", Rin gasped while clutching his chest.

And the next thing Yukio knew, was the pair of lips that crushed down on his own as he was roughly pushed down on his back. He gasped in both pain and surprise when Rin bit down his lower lip and the demon took the chance to shove his tongue inside Yukio mouth, wasting no second as it traveled the hot cavern to taste every corner. The kiss was of no battle as Rin completely dominated Yukio, the younger twin could do nothing other than whimpering helplessly as the half-demon ran his tongue fiercely in his mouth, the slapping sound of one-sided offense rang in the air.

Saliva was leaking out of Yukio's mouth, his eyes were squeezed shut, and he started to squirm because the need of air was too much. Rin finally drew back and Yukio sucked in a huge gulp of air. The elder twin didn't stop his advance to give Yukio his deserved break as he dove his head to the neck of his brother, attacking the smooth skin with wet kisses and bites along with its descend. Yukio gritted his teeth from moaning out loud.

He wouldn't admit it but it felt... pleasant... and he actually enjoyed it. Yukio unconsciously tilted his head sideways to give Rin better access, and Rin accepted it gratefully by sucking on a sensitive spot. Causing poor Yukio to moan out loud.

The sound of Yukio's lewd moan snapped Rin up from his lustful state as he stopped his advance and started to fight the urging. "I I I I mu-must stop this", he forced the words out in a growl, head burrowed to the chest of the man below him, "This is-isn't right"

Yukio opened his eyes, and traveled the glazed emerald orbs down to his twin's trembling form. He frowned, a blush still covering his pink cheeks. He knew that Rin wanted this so much, so why did he continue to deny it? The younger twin hooked his brother's chin and forced him to look up.

"Look at me"

Rin did so. And two red blazing orbs were what greeted Yukio's soft green ones. Anyone would tremble in fear at seeing the demonic feature, the color was so sinfully dangerous and yet so beautiful, but he was no anyone. He was a brother on a mission to save his other half. Nothing could crumble this resolve. Nothing would stop him.

And so he smiled.

"Don't hold it anymore nii-san. It's okay." he carded his fingers through his brother's soft hair, eyes locking gazes with Rin's red seemingly tortured ones. He gave a small smile of reassurance, "Don't resist. I'm all yours for the night" With that he brought his brother's lips back on his own, which broke Rin's last string of self-restraint and immediately responded fiercely with a bruising, sloppy kiss.

And when the half-demon broke the kiss, Yukio, with eyes glazed over and a deep blush riding high in his cheeks, looked at his brother's red eyes, which were swirling with pure dirty lust. In a blink, the half-demon had already tore the shirt of his twin, the rips were flying to all direction, one even landed on the blushing cheek of Yukio. Rin licked his lips as his eyes scanned over the pale and slightly-toned skin, hungrily devouring the squirming half-naked figure beneath him. _All mine… _The brunette let out a tiny squeak when Rin ran both his hands on his chest, claws trailing harmlessly upwards as Yukio shivered at the strange but pleasant sensation.

"Ni-nii-san, ah!", he moaned when Rin swirled his thumb over one of his pert nipple. The half-demon smirked when hearing the lewd noise. Wanting to hear more, he leaned his face down to his brother's chest, swirling his tongue around the other nipple, even nipping a little, eliciting a strangled moan from his little brother.

"A-Ahh!", Yukio arched his back, suddenly wanting things to go a little faster, "Nngh.. mo-more nii-san", he whined, fingers were fisted vengefully on the sheets of the bed.

"I'm working on it~", the seductive voice of his twin whispered hotly to his ear. Yukio shivered slightly from both the dirty words and anticipation of what about to come.

Rin reached out a hand towards the inner thigh of his twin, before rubbing the obvious bulge with his fingers through the material of the younger's pants.

Yukio's eyes nearly flew out of their sockets as he gave out a high-pitched wail and he quickly clamped his mouth shut, trying to cover his embarrassment. Before he even managed to gather himself enough from the mortification, Rin harshly grabbed the material of clothing before tearing it apart in one swift motion, effortlessly, with the aid of his sharp finger-nails.

"Ni-Nii-san!", Yukio squeaked, eyes wide open in embarrassment as his hands tried to cover the lower part of his waist. But he didn't manage so, as a rough hand encircled his wrists in a vice grip and brought them slamming down to the mattress above the brunette's head.

"Don't you dare!", Rin barked out, anger was laced in his guttural voice. The red orbs flashed wildly as he glared furiously at the quivering form of the exorcist teacher.

Yukio his lower lip to prevent himself from crying out in pain, damn, his wrists felt like they would tear apart in any second! After all the years he had as Rin's brother, he didn't know that Rin had that kind of strength in his hands. Even in this situation, he found himself feeling sorry for the thugs that Rin had brought straight to the hospital.

His wandering mind was brought back to focus as he felt three fingers were pressed demandingly at his closed lips, "Lick", Rin ordered commandingly.

The brunette could only whimpered quietly before timidly swirled his tongue around the digits, still mindful to not grace the sharp claws. He knew he had to do this well if he didn't want to bear any extreme pain, well, more than what he was going to _definitely _experience. He was inwardly thankful that Rin was even considering to _prepare _him or else he would... He chose not to continue the troubling thought.

After a while, Rin drew out his slick fingers, which were nicely-coated with saliva. And then he made a move to open Yukio's tightly closed thighs, growling warningly when they refused to budge. He pried them forcefully open, eliciting a helpless whimper from Yukio, and brought them to encircle his waist.

Yukio visibly tensed when he felt a wet digit on his entrance, and squeezed his eyes shut when the object began to slip into the tight hole, expecting the worst. But to his amazement, it didn't hurt as much as he dreaded, unusual true, but was not unbearable.

Rin brought in the second finger and made a scissoring motion to loose the ring of muscle. At this point, Yukio did wince, but chose to stay silent.

When Rin felt his partner was loose enough, he brought out his fingers with a disgusting slosh-sound and positioned himself to the entrance. And without any kind of warning, slammed inside.

Yukio's eyes flew open in pain at the feeling that seemed to tear him apart, mouth opened in a silent scream. Rin didn't give him time to adjust as he slammed right back in as Yukio screamed out in agony. The half-demon continued to pound into the brunette's tight hole mercilessly, lips setting into a wicked grin at every pained strangled scream that reached his ears.

Tears were already leaking out the corner of Yukio's tightly-closed eyes, running down his contorted cheeks as he desperately tried to get used to the searing pain. His throat was red, sore from all the screaming.

But his agonizing moment was cut short as Rin seemed to strike something inside him, turning all the pained-yells into an erotic moan as he felt indescribable pressure seeming to electrolyte the length of his spine.

The younger twin opened his eyes in wonder. What was that?

But Rin didn't grant him any time to wonder as he pushed back in, hiting the exact same spot,. "A-Ahh! Please, do-don't stop!"

A growl was what reached his ears, as Rin thrusted back in as he increased his pace. At this point, Yukio was nothing more than a screaming bundle of nerves, words of obscenities were spilling out from his lips, as he started to bucked his hips forward, matching Rin's rhythm. The elder twin altered his angle slightly, to a point where Yukio threw his head back, ass clenching subconsciously at the feeling of extreme pleasure that washed over him.

"Nii-san!", Yukio moaned out loudly before he came, releasing white fluid substance spurting to Rin's stomach.

It didn't take long for Rin to feel the nearing peak of orgasm. A particularly sharp thrust, and Rin finally came, legs slightly tensing as he emptied his load inside with a hiss.

The pair stayed still, breaths harsh and huffing, Yukio more so even though he wasn't doing any work. He lay there limply, trying to control his racing breath while at the same time suppressing down his cheeks from reddening anymore. His still fuzzy mind was even not registering the fact that Rin still had his _pride _inside him.

The clock, hanging innocently above the shouji, continued to deliver its ticking rhythmic sound, the only sound breaking the silence to accompany the audible sound of wheezed air.

In the near quietness of the room, Rin fisted his hands on the smooth sheets beside the younger twin. The moon soft illumination created a halo on his blue-black locks as he hung his head down, refusing to even gaze at the other man's face below him.

"Sorry Yukio", a soft mumble reached the ears of the exhausted exorcist lying on the bed. Yukio flashed his eyes open in surprise at hearing the words, before the wide orbs softened down, in an understanding gesture.

"Don't be", Yukio whispered, "There's nothing to be sorry for..."

Rin gave out a humorless chuckle, his now sapphire eyes observing the naked figure below him. How could he said there's nothing to be sorry for? He had just committed the forbidden act, of which the Bible, the holy book they had been taught from all their life, had laid out clearly in its content, and to his little brother nonetheless! He had just crushed Yukio's dignity as a man, his brother, and that fact alone left Rin's heart clenching painfully. It's true that Yukio was the one that suggested the act, but it didn't make him feel better. Even though his little brother was trying to help him, he shouldn't have received it on a silver platter and shove away any thought of the possible consequences.

He stared at Yukio's emerald ones, and found no trace of repulsion or hate on the serene orbs.

"Why?", the young prince of demon mouthed, blue eyes seeking desperately in the deep ocean-green hue.

Yukio smiled.

"I've made a promise", he began, "A promise of where I will protect you"

A confused stare was what he got and he decided to carry on, "Perhaps I need to be more specific. Protection means to prevent someone from getting hurt and injured", he cupped Rin's cheek with his hand, staring deeply into his brother's eyes, "I cannot bear to see you in pain, I've told you that right? I hate to not be able to do anything, watching you writhing in pain as I watch helplessly on the sideline...", Yukio explained earnestly, the emerald green eyes held his brother's gaze in their soft radiant.

"I'll do anything to keep you away from being hurt, even if that means giving myself to you in _that _way", his voice drawled in a seductive melody.

Yukio chuckled at seeing Rin blushed crimson red, "Stop teasing me you damn four eyes!"

"I am not teasing you nii-san, I am merely offering my help to you"

"Nobody tells you to!"

"Tell me that after you've just received my supposedly-not-needed help a moment ago and fuck me like an animal in heat"

Rin blushed even brighter tomate-shade, gritted his teeth as he tried to find the words to counter his little brother's. And not a moment later, Rin quirked his lips into a seductive smile. Screw damn self-dignity or any Bible holy verses, he was going to get his revenge with any means necessary. "Oh? Is that so?", he leaned forward and breathed huskily to Yukio's ears, "Dear brother, you are going to regret your attempt to mock this _demon-_in-heat. Let's see just how much you are willing to aid me with this _'help'_ of yours"

Yukio shivered at the hot breath tickling the skin of his flushed ears, gulping nervously.

Something told him that this was going to be his **longest** night he had ever experienced in his sixteen years of life. Even as an exorcist.

.

.

.

Uh... Okay, you have just read my first lemon. I didn't know if that was enough for all of you yaoi fan-girls, but I've definitely tried hard hehe *sheepish smile*

Please review okay? I really want to know what's your opinion on this chapter! :D  
>Also, if this won't trouble you, can you tell me what you think about my style in writing which was kinda... long, does that trouble you? I know that it was taking painfully-long to get to the lemon part, it's just that I don't think Rin would just jump at his brother without even resisting. Your criticism will definitely help me in my future chapters! *peace* ^.^<p>

~Golden Mist Fox


	4. LoveLess 4: 6 am

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed**

Hi LoveLess chapter 4 is finally here! Cheers! *author dodges a stone* Sorry for the _veeeerrrryyy _late update, how long has it been? But I have a very good reason though! The tight murderous schedule of school is killing me! It's already very risky for me to slip in this chapter among the school stuffs.. =.=

Sorry for not being able to answer all of the reviews, but I do cherish them very much! Please don't stop reviewing! .

Okay enough of my life-complaints. Here is the chapter!

Enjoy~

**LoveLess**  
><strong>Chapter 4: 6 a.m.<strong>

Yukio, the youngest most talented exorcist, a proud demon exorcism teacher at the prestigious True Cross Academy, was currently facing the predicament of his life.

Blue-green eyes twitched in annoyance, bland fingernails dug on the fringes of the sliding doors with vengeance as if trying to leave some gauging marks on the smooth papery substance. The bespectacled brunette was clothed in his black overcoat exorcist uniform but it was a pretty eye-catching sight as the attire lacked of the lower essential part a.k.a pants. You could guess why...

The distressed teen's eyes scrutinized the long silent corridor, flicking back and forth warily.

After confirming the absence of any living creature in the vicinity, he took a reluctant step out of the safety of his brother's room, eyes and ears kept at their prime function to detect any slight changes.

The brunette carefully started along the long corridor in a brisk pace yet as silent as a mouse. One funny fact though, Yukio walked in a style awfully similar to that of a penguin, in a quest of carrying its egg under the thick safety of its abdomen fur.

It seemed as if he tried to keep both of his thighs glued to each other as much as possible.

Yukio grumbled silently, cursing the terrible ache he was currently experiencing at his rear, particularly around the area of his arse. He silently attempted to pinpoint the one responsible for his unreasonable pain, although this particular train of thought went into a fabulous dead-end not a second later.

Because of the simple fact that he was the one whom started all of this ordeal.

A hint of blush spreaded across the pale cheeks, lips, slightly swollen and bruised probably from all the attention it had received the night before, pursed in contemplation and embarrassment. He didn't know whether he should curse his too-considerate heart which couldn't bear to witness his brother in pain, or Rin's eagerness to ravish him senselessly with almost non-existent of self control.

The damn corridor seemed irritatingly endless, probably from the restriction he currently had with his walking. His mission was simple. Get to his room which was located at the far end of the floor near the stairs without being seen by anyone.

As he gathered all of his determination and will to execute his self-imposed mission, he failed to notice a shadow looming behind him, stretching over him from the east morning sun. By the time the exorcist took notice of the shadow, he was a second too late to react.

"Yo Yukio! Glad to see yer damn ass still in one piece!"

A hand flew towards him with power before connecting to his butt with a noisy slapping sound, resonating throughout the whole mansion in its morning quietness.

Yukio widened his eyes at the searing pain that seemed to tear through him, jolting him from the base of his spine to the tip of his hair. He screeched in a manner similar to a cat being stuck inside a pair of automatic sliding door, then tumbled ungracefully to the floor, face first, with his butt stuck upwards to the air.

Well, forget the mission, he was completely busted. One thing he had failed to notice was the probability of someone sneaking beyond his range of sight. And the simple mistake awarded him the blinding pain he was currently experiencing.

Now he found himself desperately wishing for the presence of a particular black-haired boy he was cursing just moments ago to magically come to the rescue, as his brain whirled quickly to work on the percentage of the possibility.

5.7246% at best… Considering Rin's nature of being incredibly heavy-sleeper.

Woe is him.

…

A shirtless body shifted under the cover, lightly mumbling something incoherent. A pair of blue eyes peeked open at the stream of warm sunlight slipping inside the dark room… before closing again.

Rin had that nice dream about meeting a blonde-haired chick and now she had wondrously asked him for a date in the MepphyLand.

Oh yes, Bliss is him.

…

"Oy", a foot tapped carelessly on his upright butt, "ya still alive Okumura? What's with the stupid reaction anyway?"

Yukio tensed visibly at the sting from the light contact as he quickly shied away from the poking limb. "Urgh, Shura..", one visible green eye glared below the rim of his tousled bangs.

Shura just lifted a brow at the strange antic of her friend. Only God knew the number of times she had executed that one particular prank, but never did the young teacher reacted in such a way that included him rocketing down to the floor.

And not to mention the unsightly position he was now in made the worried exquires behind her had their jaws hanging open with matching blushes. The exorcist coat was riding dangerously high, exposing a generous amount of the milky skin of his lewd parted thighs, his flushed face was contorted into something akin to pain, but it only served to enhance the suggestive aura around the kneeling teen. The exorcist coat clung tightly to his curvy form, making the already improper position seemed more dirty as every part of the fabric accentuated the line of his flesh. Fresh tears rested at the corner of his dazed half-lidded eyes, making his doe-like green orbs seemed to sparkle, and his plump lips were slightly parted open to suck in slow almost _sensual_, _hot_ breaths.

Bon gulped, suddenly his throat felt so dry like he had swallowed an ample amount of sand. The usually composed Okumura-sensei, now looked like a guy who popped out from some homosexual BFs. He was not gay, yes, but Okumura-sensei looked so damn inviting!

Shima's jaws hang open. He had read and ogled over god-knows-how-many explicit magazines, so he should be immune to this kind of scene, but this... this... Is it just him or is there really some moe moe flowers floating around his sexy sensei now?

Shiemi blushed tomato red at seeing the scene. She may have no perverted thoughts about her childhood friend but she could easily say that the pose he had at the moment was in so many ways were inappropriate. For a man.

Konekomaru's and Izumo's mind: …

Shura crossed her arms and furrowed her brows, "Hey Yukio", her eyes ran from his eyes down to his sprawled body, "Are yer trying to seduce us or something? 'Cause I swear, some male students of yers drooled over ya like fucking dogs on a plate of meat pie.."

The exquires all blushed in shame (including Shiemi and Izumo despite gender's was a complete opposite)

Yukio blinked.

And blinked again.

The exorcist's green orbs widened comically.

His gears and self-consciousness of what he probably looked like in front of his students and fellow teacher hit him like a ton of bricks. He swiftly twirled himself and simultaneously pulled down his exorcist coat. Rising up slowly, he stumbled to find his balance, wincing at the occational jolts of pain should he bend his thighs in the wrong positions.

"Uh...", the brunette whirled his brain for something to say. Works brain! "Eh.. What a fine morning we have today don't you think?"

This was the worst scenario.

He had predicted that most of the occupants of the mansion would be still in their slumber from the strenuous night before, when they had tried to subdue Rin. He could care less about being stared at by the workers there for the reason he would be leaving the place any time soon, for good.

Now here he was, blushing profusely under all the pair of scrutinizing probing eyes of his students and fellow teacher.

"Ano Okumura-sensei", a timid voice from Konekomaru said, "Ho-how is Okumura-kun, uh I mean, Rin-kun? Has he recovered?"

Yukio straightened his posture, trying to look as composed as he normally was, and nodded slightly, "Yes, he is now asleep on his chamber"

An unhealthy silence hung around the gathering group, Yukio tried not to show his uneasiness and simultaneously tried to find a way to safely get to his room without arising mortifying inquiries. He was normally able to handle every situation but for the moment he wasn't sure how to smoothly acquire his retreat. Maybe if he-

"Are you hurt in anywhere sensei? Because I suppose..", Shima scanned his eyes over the slouched and disheveled form of his teacher with incredulous eyes. Their exorcist teacher also had very visible dark bags under his eyes which clearly indicated the lack of sleep. He almost looked like a ghost if not for the morning sun shining over his slouched figure "You look pretty... wrecked" _If not completely…_

The brunette gulped. He knew fully well that his student referred to the currently half-naked condition of his. He just prayed for whatever deity that heard his distressed call so the damn people in front wouldn't notice the other irritatingly visible signs, like for example, the crease of his exorcist coat which could easily indicate that there was no other piece of garment currently clothing him at the moment.

"Uum", this was too fucking early to kick his fucking brain to fucking work, "Nii- I mean Okumura-kun was quite... rough the night before. It was quite a feat to... maintain my... fullest performance as I was barely keeping up with him"

He mentally berated himself for all the unnecessary pauses his eloquent self wasn't normally made.

Well there was no lie in that answer though, although the indication of the meanings would probably differ greatly from the exquires minds. What he was worried about was the glint in Shura's eyes, it seemed that she had already suspected something... fishy.

He used all of his willpower to not squirm under her impending gaze as she dragged her accusing eyes incredibly slow over his body.

Yukio once again swallowed all of his uneasiness, "Ah so minna-san, I suppose i should excuse myself to my room to-

"YUKIOOOOOO!", a massive extremely loud scream penetrated the tense atmosphere, shattering it completely as all the startled standing party jumped in fright.

There, the perpetrator was running, no, more like flying towards them.

"Geh, Okumura!", Bon quickly fell to a defensive position, his hand jamming down to his pocket where his trusted sutra laid.

All of them mimicked the yellow-streaked haired teen doing, eyes warily trained on the approaching figure. But the half-demon promptly ignored them as he dived straight towards Yukio.

"Yukio!", the boy half wailed half screamed, tackling his brother as his hands secured around the exorcist's waist firmly, "Why didn't you tell me that you left!"

The brunette regarded the teen with confused gaze, arms hanging awkwardly on his sides, before his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Huh?", Yukio directed his piercing gaze to the oblivious sapphire eyes, which dared to blink at him innocently, the younger twin's expression morphed into the dark ever-famous scary calm façade but everyone in the vicinity could easily pinpoint the bubbling anger behind it. Well, maybe except for a certain blue-haired teen.

Yukio, as has been mentioned in the last chapter, was a patient man, yes, but apparently-

"Could you care to repeat what you've said nii-san?", he put on that creepy sharp quirk-up of his lips he called a smile, down to Rin, dark shadows still loomed on the upper part of his face.

Rin, ever oblivious, parroted his previous question.

Snap.

Ooops, the gathering crowd could magically hear it.

"Why did I leave? WHY DID I LEAVE? YOU-", Yukio grabbed on Rin's collars and tugged them harshly, "-IMMATURE UNSENSIBLE INSENSITIVE UNQUESTIONABLY PITIFUL EXCUSE OF A SO-CALLED BROTHER! YOU'VE SCREWED ME UP DOWN TO THIS.. THIS.. WOEFUL ABSURD STATE AND YOU DARED TO QUESTION MY MOMENTARY ABSENCE TO RECOVER MY SCATTERED PIECES OF SELF-DIGNITY?-", the angry, no, enraged teen shook his brother's by his collars while bellowing right into the very surface of his face, "-YOU'VE RIPPED MY DAMN WHOLE CLOTHES TO SHREDS AND I AM NOT ALLOWED TO PEACEFULLY AND SURREPTITIOUSLY RETRIEVE A NEW ONE FROM MY ROOM? HUH? _HUH?_ NOW YOU GOT THE FUCKING REASON WHY I LEFT!"

The brunette finished with a huff, fiery eyes glimmered icy green, daring his brother to retaliate.

Now we all know that our composed young exorcist teacher wouldn't normally lose his temper over such a trivial but slightly provoking matter, but in a morning where he didn't get an ounce of sleep at the previous night plus his brother's innocent attitude despite the said damn sibling of his had banged him senselessly at the _same_ previous night, can apparently let down his record of _never_ having _lost_ it.

Meanwhile, our poor Rin, who believed himself to be an innocent and fault-free teen, was beginning to feel sick from all of the yanking and bouncing. Just what he did wrong anyway? It's not his fault for being worried when his little brother just disappeared like that right? Right? Who knows if the reason of Yukio's disappearance was due to his beloved brother being abducted by youkai?

Konekomaru and Shima had each taken cover behind Bon and Shura, bodies dramatically shivering at every enraged word.

"Ripped clothes?", Shura asked, an eyebrow cocked curiously, but both brothers were too busy chastising each other, well, more like one-way curses from one furious sixteen-year-old teen.

"BAKA NII-SAN! AIR-HEAD! CORRUPTED-DEVIL! PERVERT!"

Now Rin finally found a chance to interrupt the line of the nearly interminable cursing, "Hey, I'm not a pervert! True you can call me a nut-head, scattered-brained or anything, to fuck I care, but you can't blame me for doing it to you! After all, it's not me who last night said, 'Nii-san, You are allowed to fu-

"OKUMURA RIN!", a harsh gust of wind suddenly blew on his face, swiftly knocked whatever word he was about to spout. The half-demon opened his eyes warily to find himself facing a doom-faced Yukio whose eyes were so narrowed and imaginary black clouds were ominously floating as his background. Rin sweatdropped.

"If you proceed to finish that sentence, I will personally tear down that abhorrent tongue of yours and have it barbequed and nailed on the very first entrance gate leading to True Cross Academy. Have I made myself clear?"

Rin, too intimidated to retaliate only managed to utter a, "H-Hai Yukio"

"And we are _not _to ever bring out this particular topic _again _in any possible ways"

"Bu-but you were the one who first talked about th-

"_HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR?_"

"C-CRYSTAL CLEAR!"

Yukio loosen his grip momentarily as his face gradually soften down, leaving one exhausted teen staring down at his trembling brother. Rin gazed wide-eyed at the unreadable half-lidded green orbs and winced visibly when his twin lightly placed his hands on his shoulders. He held his breath as he was expecting another preaching, eyes squeezed shut in preparation, before suddenly finding a weight slumped on his body.

Rin snapped his eyes open in warning, and wrapped his arms around his unconscious brother in time before the brunette could slide and strike the floor, and swiftly supported the powerless body to his level.

"Okumura-sensei!", Bon exclaimed hurriedly as he moved to aid his teacher along with the other alarmed exorcists. But an arm of Shura stopped their advances.

"Relax", Shura said without glancing at the team of the worried exquires, choosing to instead observed the still form of her fellow exorcist as the young demon shifted his position in his arms to have better leverage, "Yer teach is only unconscious from exhaustion"

"Is Oku- Rin that tough to be able to reduce sensei into that state?", Izumo who was silent the whole time decided to verbally join the conversation.

Shura smirked, "Oh I have no fucking doubt that he is. And I know _exactly_ how"

The gathering people looked at the smug-looking woman now as her smirk widened when she saw that Rin was warily looking at her.

She continued, "Although I prefer to hear it straight from the criminal himself"

All eyes immediately returned to Rin.

The said teenager blushed but said nothing as he hauled his brother's body across his arms and lifted the motionless body effortlessly. The sinewy strong muscle of his triceps was visible as he soundlessly proceed to the direction of his brother's room.

"Ooy! Who says yer can get to swerve yer way out of this ya damn brat!"

Rin didn't stop his walk but answered the question nonetheless, "I'm only carrying Yukio to his room to lie him down. Is that wrong? And besides Yukio has clearly said to not talk about that matter again in front of anyone"

Shura frowned, a little disappointed to be stripped off of the fun of humiliating both boys as much as she could, "Since when do yer actually listen to what yer brother says anyway?"

Rin slided open the shouji to his brother's room and stopped just before entering the chamber. The gathering crowd couldn't see what his expression was as half of his face was shrouded under his blue-black bangs. Just as they came to the conclusion that Rin wasn't going to answer, the teen lifted his bangs to gaze at them with strange glint visible on his sapphire eyes.

He lifted his lips and whispered in soft nearly inaudible voice, "Since he offered me his help willingly and prevented me from being consumed by my demon…"

_"If I can help in any way, I will gladly do it." _

The twin gazed down on his sleeping brother, "And not letting me drown in the feeling of fear alone…",

_"Because I couldn't bear to see you in pain anymore nii-san" "I'll do anything to keep you away from being hurt_

He let a small smile danced on his lips, serene sapphire orbs observed the tranquil looking face with mixed feelings. He felt like he could gaze at Yukio forever. Just like this.

"But on top of it all, since he utter _those words_…", Rin looked like he wanted to say something more but decided against it.

Shima ONCE AGAIN decided to break the mood by blurting a completely unintelligent response.

"Huh?"

Bon decided to rephrase the word when he saw that Shima wasn't going to say anything else, "Uh… Can you repeat Okumura? Because truth to be told, I didn't quite get it."

Rin sighed but decided to give in, "Alright I'll summarize it in three words", he made a dramatic pause before a smirk lifted the corner of his lips.

"Since. Last. Night~", Rin purred out in suggestive tone and an equally pair of seductive twinkling orbs. A wide naughty smirk was plastered on his face, baring his fangs to view in a way awfully similar like a demon would.

An elegant flip of a black tail later, the shouji was shut close.

Leaving stunned young teenagers rooted on their place with massive blushes and bulged eyes. Even Shura was slightly taken aback at the undirect shameless confession of her student.

"W-What's just happened?", Konekomaru voiced out breathlessly.

"D-Dunno", Shima answered before awkwardly turned on his heels, prompting the others to follow him, "L-Let's just go to the hot spring and take a dip 'kay?"

The remaining exquires just nodded wordlessly and tailed the pinkette. They deserved a nice hot bath to digest all of the events unfolded which was more than they could handle in a day. And it occurred at a mere _6 a.m._ in the morning.

..

_The words I cherish the most are... the words which I've never been given a chance to prove of in my whole life, never even hear the beggining of it, and never able to relinquish on the warm feeling it gives..._

_Until last night..._

_"I trust you..."_

~Fin

_._

_._

_._

How was that? Do that sattisfy you?  
>I know it's mainly consist of pointless talks because this chapter is focusing on the reactions everyone has on the following day:)<p>

Originally I planned on stopping here, but there's a new idea forming on my head which this story could lead to. Should I give it a try? Or is this good enough? :O

I welcome any suggestions! If I continue this story then the suggestions about their relationship development would help greatly... because I am not a good romantic person... *cries* =.=

Please do review! Praise, criticism, opinion, suggestion, flame, whatever, I will welcome them all :D

~Golden Mist Fox


	5. LoveLess 5: How do We Cope?

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed**

Hi readers, I know it's been _waaay_ too long, and I apologize for that! I've been busy on the past month because I attended a Winter School programme somewhere outside my country (beloved Indonesia *wink*). And I've added a new fic of Natsume Yuujinchou so I've been splitting my attention on both fics hahahaha sorry, really ^.^"

This chapter is kinda the introduction for the second arc of LoveLess, _yeaaaah_ I decided to keep this fic ongoing after receiving many kind supportive urgings to continue. Thanks for the reviews guys! I apologize because I didn't answer, I always forget to, and when it's way too long gap of time, It's kinda awkward for me to suddenly send a review... so... yeah... =.=

And there's a request to make this M-preg. It's a good idea, but unfortunately not for me. The prospect of a male getting pregnant... just doesn't sound right to me... I'm incredibly sorry! .

Now please enjoy~

**LoveLess**  
><strong>Chapter 5 : How do we cope?<strong>

The bell had just rung. Somehow the scratchy sound, rusted by years of use, sounded like a melody to each of the students.

A girl, with deep auburn hair tied into two high pig-tails, timidly gathered all her stuffs and meticulously stuffed them inside her scarlet G-Line Medium Canvas Tod's bag. She reached for her Greek Literature textbook at the far corner of the table but accidentally knocked her rubber off the table.

"Ah!", she exclaimed as the cylindrical green Mignon eraser rolled along the polished marble floor. She quickly attempted to kneel down but a pale hand beat her outstretched one to it in mid-air. Her dark gray eyes scanned upwards along the long limb, her face a spark of curiosity, before a blush crept its way to her cheeks.

"O-Okumura-kun"

Said teen smiled kindly at her, causing the girl to blush a deeper shade of healthy pink, as he offered the rubber to the enthralled student, "Here you go Kujou-san"

_'Waaah his face is so blinding!'_

"A-Arigatou", the girl tipped her head down, receiving the piece of stationary meekly. At the sudden change of angle of her head, Yukio noticed the bright blue ribbon adorning the upper part of her auburn locks.

He smiled, "The blue color of your ribbons suited you Kujou-san"

Kujou's eyes nearly popped out of her sockets in shock, she couldn't help but snapped her gaze back to the gorgeous boy kneeling in front of her despite having face as red as a tomato.

_'Did'_, her swirling mind tried to contemplate each word with all the knowledge she stored in her brain, _'Did he just compli-'_

But her hope crumbled as soon as Yukio stood up and walked away towards his table, glancing back once to deliver that smile that could melt any woman's heart to her. She dropped her head down as she continued her task of gathering everything in her bag.

Of course, there's no way that _Okumura Yukio_ would mean anything by that remark. Yukio, despite being targeted by over the half of the girls in their grade, hadn't had any single girlfriends until this second. He, with no doubt, was a perfect boyfriend material, with a face any guy would envy he also was a perfect embodiment of a cool ideal top student type of guy which scored nearly unblemished grades. Despite having a lean figure, he's unbeaten at sport. He also had an admirable attitude, good social skills, adored and trusted by all the teachers from all grades, and the list could go on and on.

It was a mystery as to why Yukio kept declining the love confessions from numerous girls that shyly confronted him in school breaks or after school. Rumors that flew around stated that maybe he already had his most special one and was keeping a secret about it. But of course, it's nothing but an inconclusive rumor.

"Shizu!", a loud yell near her ears jerked her completely off her slightly depressing session. She turned her head in alarm and her two best friends' grinning faces greeted her bewildered eyes.

"Fuuki!", she reprimanded in anger.

"Hey nice to meet you too girl! And what's with the long face anyway?", a girl with tousled hair winked her peculiar green cat eye, a smirk rested almost naturally on her lips.

_'Am I that obvious?'_ "No it's just...", her eyes unconsciously took a brief leer to the direction of the number one student.

"Is it about Okumura-kun?", a knowing voice came from a girl with long black doll-like hair. Shizu's body jerked slightly at the shock of being effortlessly found out. Sae, her other best friend, stood there, staring at her almost like she could unveil every secret she tried to hide.

Shizu gulped, wide eyes observed her friend's beady black ones in surprise. Can she read minds?

Fuuki shook her head, "Okumura? That's a tough one girl. Do you know that he hasn't said yes even once from all the gazillion and bababazillion of confessions or love letters he received?"

The auburn-haired girl opted to say nothing. She lifted her gaze back to her secret crush, the boy was elegantly seated in his chair like it was an expensive pure-leather cathedra. Yukio seemed immersed in the world of his thick-spined encyclopedia-kind of a book he had on the table, oblivious or maybe simply didn't care at the cacophony of noises and chatters around him.

He generally was a lone-wolf, opting to read a book in the corner rather than laughing with his friends, hell she wasn't even sure that he had someone he would call a friend to begin with. He wasn't an antisocial or misanthropist, far from that, she could easily see that many students of both sexes were openly seeking for chances to be close to him. But the boy chose to talk only when it was necessary, smiling politely before returning to his own world with his books, building an almost palpable barrier between him and other people. He just didn't prefer to be close with anyone, in a term of friendship or even physically, he even went as much as to glare to a boy who once dared to encircle his arm around the bespectacled boy's shoulder in a completely friendly manner. The poor boy immediately ceased his display of affection with a mental note inscribed in his head : Touching Yukio is a big no no. Another rumor spreaded, he maybe was allergic to a person's touch although it was very unlikely.

It's not like he couldn't properly communicate with other people, _naaaaaw_, faaar from that, he's a guy who was very easy to talk to and amazingly sociable. He could even appeal to the most fearsome delinquents in the school and laughed with them in a mere 5 minutes.

Sounds kinda like a nerd to you? Well maybe, except this nerd radiated an aura of a higher being than them which none of the students could dare to decipher his status as one.

Indeed Yukio was amazing in his own way.

Sae dropped her arms on the table and propped her head on them, sighing dreamily, "Aaah how I wish to be his special one. Unfortunately he apparently doesn't give a damn about romance, or simply doesn't need one", she glanced back to her friend, "Shizu-chan, if you like him so much you should try to hit him on"

Shizu gave her friend a distaste look, "No way! As Fuuki said he declines every confessions he gets, I refuse to embarrass myself when he turns me down after I've gathered every bit of my courage to confess!", Shizu huffed but then a thought pushed its way off her lips before she could stop it, "I wonder why he hasn't dated any girl up to this point, with his looks and social status, he could easily get any girl he wants, even some really beautiful senpais have tried to win his heart."

Fuuki pointed her finger to the girl in glee, "Aha! So you do think that he is handsome!"

"Oh come on, who doesn't?", Sae stated like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

The girl's green eyes went narrowed, trying to think of some way to retort, "Hm… you're somehow right. Well this is my theory, maybe he's not into girls"

Shizu frowned, "What do you mean?"

The girl rolled her green-cat-like eyes, before she stopped and grinned mischievously, "I mean like that!", she pointed towards the door of their class.

Both Shizu and Sae directed their gazes to where their best friend pointed at, and like a bee to a jar full of honey immediately have their attentions on a black-blue-haired boy standing on their slightly ajar door. His eyes were diligently scanning the room, almost like searching for someone.

Shizu blinked when the boy's eyes brightened and a smile made its way towards his lips, claiming her suspicion that he was indeed searching for someone and had apparently found it. The nameless boy then welcomed himself to the room and strutted with long strides to the corner front of their class, aiming straight to the lone boy sitting near the window, who was deeply engrossed into whatever book he was reading.

_'To Okumura-kun?'_, the girl inquired in her head.

Then to her surprise, the boy approached the occupied Yukio from behind, and then flung his arms around the boy's neck in a full bear-hug.

Shizu's eyes widened, _"Eeeeeh?"_

Fuuki grinned proudly, "Told ya!"

"Bu-but", Shizu pointed a shaking finger to the glomping teens, "Do-does that mean he's...

...gay?", Sae finished with an equally stupefied tone.

Fuuki patted her stunned friend in mocked sympathy, "It's all right girl. There's still a plenty of fish in the sea"

Sae scoffed, "Yeah sure. Except this one fish is a large legendary tuna which worth hundreds of thousands of yen. Moving that aside, who on earth is that anyway?"

The brash girl grinned, a hidden camera ready behind her back in preparation to snatch some priceless moments of her shocked-beyond-Jupiter friends, "His twin brother"

"FOR REAAAL?"

Shizu regained her composure after some white lights flashed in front of her. Ignoring the sounds of the shutters, she turned her head towards where Yukio and the mysterious boy were chatting animatedly.

A twin? Now that she paid a closer attention to the unnamed boy, she can point out some distinct resemblances. The structure of their face, their high cheekbones, the shape of their noses, and even their body postures (eventhough Yukio won tremendously in the height department). He could certainly pass as Yukio's twin, certainly fraternal, minus the glasses, moles, and the neatly combed-hair. But what their most different feature was their eyes. Yukio's eyes were a shade of spring green, so calm yet radiated the fresh feeling of remarkable intelligence that shone clearly from the twin emerald orbs. He was a remembrance of a tall and sturdy lush green mountain which impressed most people yet most of them refused to explore its massive structure of sophisticated complexity to avoid the troubles it would sprout. But this boy was a complete opposite. His were painted the color of crystal blue, bright and frank, the shining orbs practically demanded all attention to his very presence. He was a reminder of the portrayal of endless blue horizon, a perfect sky of cloudless entity which crowned the day with its warm blue envelope.

Now she wondered. Are they different? Or are they actually the same?

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_Amniocentesis_, this was the part of which he decided to learn today. _In medicine, it is a procedure of withdrawing a sample of amniotic fluid that envelops the developing human fetus in the uterus. The fetal cells obtained from the fluid are cultured for indications of chromosomal abnormalities, defective enzymes, or deficient growth. It is usually performed during the fourth month of pregnancy in conjunction with genetic counseling of-_

He continued to run his diligent eyes across the narrowly-packed words which was inconveniently almost jumbled together in small nauseating sizes with extreme dedication.

He was just getting into the steps of the medical procedure before suddenly a pair of arms encircled his neck from his back. Yukio widened his eyes in surprise at the unexpected physical touch. The boy leaned his head near Yukio's lower jaw and the bespectacled boy could immediately feel the familiar comforting warmth surging through his body from his back.

"Yukio~"

The said boy sighed, not in irritation or annoyance, but relief. He thought that it was other person who had dared to rudely infiltrate his personal bubble.

"Niisan", Yukio murmured, "It's unusual for you to come into my class. What brings you here?"

Rin exhaled peevish-like breath and pouted, "What? Now I can't come to my little brother's class to ask for him to go home together? Besides, it seems that you are too comfortable playing with your huge spawn-of-devil-made-of-printed-papers here and aren't planning to go home any sooner", the older twin pointed out accusingly while glaring at the book forgotten in the green-eyed boy's lap.

Yukio lifted a perfect brow, "Spawn of devil?"

At the moment, the two were unaware of the attention they'd hooked from the majority of the class. A girl tapped furiously on her friend's back which was tweeting excitedly and pointed a discreet finger towards the two brothers. A male student silenced the rest of his chatting friends with a sharp gesture of his arm and jerked his head to direct their attention somewhere else. A large group of girls excitedly whispered in hushed voice all the while giggling with blushes on their face.

_"Hey, who the hell is that guy?"_

_"I don't know either, seems like they know each other somehow"_

_"That goes without saying dude, otherwise that cool genius Okumura Yukio wouldn't even let that kind of brash kid of ever going near him. Let alone hugging him like that"_

_"I am more interested in knowing why that guy hugged him in the first place. Do they have any kind of special relationship between them?"_

_"Fumi-chan, who is that guy?"_

_"The one hugging Okumura-kun? What about him?"_

_"It's just weird that Okumura-kun let that guy to hug him like that and seems even comfortable. Besides, he is kinda cute~"_

_"Well, that's natural. If I'm not mistaken, that guy named Rin is Okumura-kun's brother"_

_"Eeeh for real? No way, this is the first time I've ever heard that Okumura-kun has a brother!"_

Still unaware, Rin tilted his head to rest more comfortably near his brother's neck.

"What? Ya got a problem about that?"

Yukio chuckled. His brother now sounded like a particular pink-haired woman, "Not at all. Sorry about my negligence of the time" To show that he acknowledged his brother's urging, Yukio then slipped his thick book inside his backpack, "Besides, it's not necessary for you to come get me here, you could have just waited me in the school's lobby like usual", he added nonchalantly.

Rin finally released his hold to allow his twin to continue packing his back. Acquiring his liberty, Yukio swiftly leaned towards the table to enable him packing his bag quicker.

Rin scoffed, crossing his arms unpleasantly, "Sorry for gracing your holy ground with my unnecessary lowly presence, oh, honorable Yukio-sama (Yukio sweatdropped, "I didn't mean it like that. It's just you don't have to trouble yourself"). Anyway, more importantly, the clown asked all cram-school students to come to his office after class. Including you, as the teacher. He said it's super urgent or something"

Now that piqued his interest, it's very rare for the principal to summon any students directly to his office, "Oh really? Sir Pheles did?", Yukio quirked his brow.

"Yeah, do I sound like lying to you? So now get your ass going or otherwise we're gonna be late", Rin seized Yukio's wrist and pulled his brother off his seat by sheer strength. Yukio let out a brief sound of protest and only got enough time to snatch his bag before being dragged unceremoniously out of the class.

Almost all heads followed both boys until they're gone from sight, then the myriad of noises continued as it was, but this time most of it was centering around the unusual scene that had just occurred before them.

Shizu, whose face was a deep blush, turned to her grinning friend with a big question mark on her face.

"Ara?", Fuuki teasingly said, "Are you surprised?"

Shizu shook her head and tried to fix her face's color back to normal, "Of course. They're brothers right? It's unusual for siblings already in their teen years to continue to hug each other so openly like that"

"Okumura-kun can't be categorized as a normal person anyway", Sae pointed out.

"True", Shizu smiled, "I wonder why brothers like them have no shame to do that kind of PDA?"

"Hm", the cat-eyed girl tapped her polished pointed-nail to her chin, in a gesture to indicate that she was racking her brain to acquire the certain information, "I don't know what started it but I heard from YAIG (Yukio's Association of Infatuated Girls) *in other words a fan club* that the shorter guy, Okumura Rin, for the first time, for he hasn't ever before, hugged Okumura publicly near the school gate like about less than a year ago."

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Spring. The most favorable season of the year was at its glorious state right now. The weather was still mildly cold but in a favorable sort of way. The brothers walked side by side along the dark stone-tiled streets while admiring the beauty of their surroundings.

The ancient-architectural-styled buildings of the school were freed of snow and stood with their antiquated unique color proudly on view. The bright glow of the sun, no longer thwarted with layers of cold white snow, enveloped the True Cross grounds with its yearning heat. The golden rays penetrated through the thick layers of leaves and freckled different shapes of dark patches o the streets like the canvas of an abstract art.

A mild breeze flushed across the row of trees which adorned the sides of the pavement, creating a delightful melody of friction between the branches and leaves.

Yukio exhaled in appreciation and chose this brief chance to recall the past months before this. Lots and lots and lots of new things had happened.

And of course, the most vivid memory of it was stored safely in his head like a visible red stain on an immaculate wall. Occurring in the depth of the mountain which was stranded from modern human civilization, in a comfortable Japanese-styled house, he could remember every detail of its massive structure. And... the view of a certain room's ceiling... also the softness of its mattress. He could also recall the hue of the bright blue moon which shone red near its edges.

He expected that his interaction with his nii-san would change tremendously after that fateful night, who wouldn't after that kind of stunt? But somehow... it didn't in the slightest. Rin was still the same as ever. Rin still regarded him as his baby brother of which he used for arguing with him. Rin still conversed with him as normal as he could be. Rin still annoyed him with his wretched grades in the cram school and scowled like he always had when Yukio gave him his long lecture.

But perhaps, what changed was the way Rin treated him. Rin acted more affectionate towards him and would use practically every chance to show it. He didn't even care about keeping it as private, his twin wasn't ashamed to do it publicly and made it looked as if it's the most normal thing between siblings. The blue-eyed teen would sling an arm behind the side of the couch of where he sat whenever they sat next to each other, lean his head to his shoulders, or even as far as to snake an arm around his waist for a number of times.

At first, of course Yukio felt incredibly awkward, furthermore when other people turned their eyes on them. He would then scold his twin about it. But then the next day it happened again. And again. And again. And again.

Until Yukio just gave up and allowed his brother to do whatever he wanted, be it a kiss on the cheek or even using his lap as a mean of seat. It even felt almost natural to him.

But... Rin didn't try to do anything further than that. Yukio had once thought that Rin tried to suggest an underlying meaning behind his affectionate touch and tactfully analyzed each gesture.

It turned out to be a fruitless search... for it's just pure love between family... Furthermore, that particular sensitive topic wasn't even once brought out in conversations between them. It's almost as if it never even happened in the first place.

And deep inside, he was glad, that after all that,

...Rin was still his brother.

Yukio looked down to his side, of where two hands intertwined together. One of it belong to him and the other belong to Rin. He then looked around him. As he expected, fellow passerby of uniform-clad students, gave them weird and judging stares, obviously wondering why two teenagers had their hands linked together in public. Yukio gave them one of his charming smiles and the bothered girls which were whispering among themselves blushed slight pink and timidly gave him their own smiles. The boys just huffed and after giving the twins a dirty look, obviously suspecting something sinister, returned back to their merry walks.

Satisfied, he turned to look at his twin.

Rin, unlike his boisterous self, was silent in the whole trip. The pair of blue eyes were fixated on the stone-tiled road, obviously not looking in front of him and chose to entrust the way to his brother. Yukio, slightly concerned, decided to be verbal about it, "Nii-san what's wrong? You're so uncharacteristically quiet"

His twin seemed to snap out of whatever ponder he was in, "Huh what?"

"I said you seem concerned about something, mind to share?"

Rin scoffed, his normal facade returning back to his face, "It's nothing. Just curious as to what that clown has to say to us that is _sooo_ urgent. He looked as if the sky was about to fall or something"

A white butterfly flew past them, beating its wings towards the bunch of pink Alstroemeria sprouting out on the side of the pavement. Yukio gave out an amused chuckle, "You watched too much Chicken Little."

Rin blushed and gave an unintended glare to his smiling twin, "Who cares? It's awesome anyway. My obsession is at least better than your stupid super thick monstrosity you called a book"

Yukio frowned, "It certainly is not stupid. The discovery of Amniocentesis enables doctors to perform prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities and fetal infections on four-months-of-pregnancy fetus to-

"HEY GUYS! Been waiting long?", Rin shouted in an ear-splitting volume before taking off in a light run, dragging Yukio once more to catch up with his fellow cram-school friends.

"Okumura!", Bon regarded his friend with an accusing glare, the rest of the cram students were standing near him, "Where the hell have you been? We've been waiting for you and sensei for more than twenty minutes!"

His attention then caught on to the adjoined hands between Rin and their sensei. He didn't even ponder about it further.

It no longer surprised any of them because a scene like this happened all the time. For example when they went to the cram class. Most of the time they would walk in together hand-in-hand, then split their physical bonds to enable them to go to their respective positions, Rin to join in with them and sat next to Shiemi and Yukio to the teacher's table in preparation to start the class.

Rin came to a stop in front of his friends grinning like a Cheshire cat with a huffing Yukio next to him who tried to suck in gulps of air as discreetly as he could, "Don't be such a tight ass, twenty minutes won't hurt anyone! Besides it's not me whom you should yell to", Rin jerked a thumb to his twin, "It's this Yukio here, and I, as a responsible older brother, had to drag him off to stop being all over his bewitching girlfriend"

At that Shima's eyebrows rose, "Okumura-sensei already had a girlfriend? No fair! I am still trying to hook one up yet none is even interested!"

"Okumura-sensei is dating?", Konekomaru said in astonishment.

"Bewitched?", Izumo quirked one round eyebrow.

Yukio sighed. There's no way he could say that his supposed 'girlfriend' was apparently a book. Decided to end this useless conversation he finally spoke up, "Didn't Sir Pheles supposed to have urgently summoned us to his office?"

Bon ceased to argue some more, "Ah yes! Come on we're running late!"

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_Tap.. Tap.. Tap.._

The sound of Mephisto's sharp fingernail tapping on his expensive oak desk reverbrated in the vacant room, speaking volumes of his growing impatience and boredom.

"Holy hell, where on earth do they take their time to walk to", he grumbled while twirling his puffy umbrella with the tip as its pivot on his marble floor.

Then a knock came from his door before the twin doors flew open.

Mephisto erected his back and quickly brought his hands to elegantly rest on the top of his table.

Yukio, after giving a polite greet, came striding in confidently with Rin on tow while the rest followed him awkwardly. Yeah, it apparently was their first time of ever stepping into their flamboyant demon principal's private room. Furthermore, they absolutely had no idea as to why the clown-like principal bothered to call them in privately.

After all were settled in a neat row, Mephisto ran his slanted eyes to observe each of his student, then his face broke into a cheerful grin, "Welcome to my magnificent chamber, glad to have all of you here! But I hope to not see this kind of belated appearance again, understand? Moving on, I've called you here to inform you about a serious problem"

"A serious problem?", Yukio inquired. As far as he was aware of, there's nothing out of ordinary that could be considered as serious.

"Yes, the existence of cram school has been found out.". All previously straight faces now broke into a fine example of pure shock, even Yukio looked taken aback. "As of now a rumor flies around that few students of True Cross forms a secret meeting to view on the prospect of 'dark magic' after school every day"

The bespectacled teacher frowned in confusion, "But how is that even possible? To access the door to the cram school a special key is strictly required. And only a number of people associated with exorcism purpose possess these kinds of keys. Are you suggesting that one of us leaked the secret to other students?"

"Not at all. I'll explain exactly why later because now I would like to inform you more important matters. Rest assured, I trust you all wouldn't even consider to do such foolish thing. Well, maybe except for Mr. Okumura there"

"Hey! I didn-

"SO!", Mephisto cut the peeved boy quickly to avoid the trouble it would occur, "To amend this… misunderstanding, I resort to the solution of properly introducing you as a legitimate school club to all other students simply because leaking the information about demon exorcism to clueless humans are out of the question. It's a 'supernatural magic' club if you are wondering", Mephisto smirked, obviously enjoying sprouting this kind of secret hoax.

Yukio's brow twitched slightly. To introduce himself as a member of such a childish club would certainly arise questions within his class. Just thinking about the endless inquiries that would pelt upon him from the majority of female students… _Scary_…

"Now how you ask?", the clown-like principal grinned, his dark purple eyes twinkled in mischievousness, "Using the chance in True Cross Cultural Festival occurring next month, I want you to perform a moving spectacular drama in the peak of classes performances' events with members from cram school students and, in addition, Okumura-sensei too"

...

_"EEEEEEEEH? FOR NEXT MONTH?"_

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The three girls were walking back to their respective dorm while chatting zealously.

"-as I was saying, Okumura is better than his twin! Do you even know that he is a delinquent?", Sae argued heatedly for the umpteenth times.

Fuuki narrowed her green eyes in slight annoyance, "But he has a remarkably strict attitude and he's _way_ too cold for my taste! Besides, the info that Rin-kun is a delinquent is outdated! He has changed you know!", she huffed while crossing her arms. A moment later a slight twinkle invaded the green hue of her eyes, "But... don't you think that both of them together is kinda hot?"

Sae widened her eyes in dissaproval, _"HUH?"_

"Hey imagine it, two super handsome and attractive guys being cuddly-cuddly together? Kyaaa~ that's cuteee!", Fuuki chirped with a blush on her face.

Sae crinkled her face, "Eew... disgusting", she then directed her attention to the other quiet girl, "What do you think Shizu?"

Shizu stared at her friend for a while before turning to examine the giant Banyan tree far ahead on the centre of round park of where five major roads met together. She then imagined the image of the older twin hugging his younger brother.

"I... think that both of them hugging together is okay, they're family after all. But if I have to choose, I'll choose Yukio-kun"

A cheer sounded from Sae while Fuuki scowled in displeasure.

"But... The way Rin-kun hugged Yukio-kun...", she murmured with contemplating expression,"...is kind of weird"

Both of her friends stared at her in confusion, "What d'ya mean?"

Shizu still kept her gaze on the huge tree, silently marvelling on its towering frame, "Rin-kun... has this look on his eyes. He may seem very happy when hugging Yukio-kun with that big smile on his face. But his eyes... had this sad feeling to it"

A withering yellow leaf dwindled off from the Banyan tree, swinging once before being carried off with a sudden strong wind.

"... almost as if he is regretting something..."

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Once again, I produced an extremely long chapter, why can't I write a shorter one? *frustated*

Please review dear readers, my motivation to write more is pumped up every time a review comes to my inbox. That means faster update! Yippie XXD

I appreciate EVERY review that comes, be it good or constructive criticism :)

~Golden Mist Fox


	6. LoveLess 6: Purple Blood

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed**

Heya, welcome back readers!

There's a lot of reviews that mentioned Rin was feeling guilty. Maybe you're wondering why but I'll leave it to your imaginations. It won't be fun if I simply lay out the reason for you~ hehehehe :p

And one thing for sure, I will keep this thing as Rin/seme and Yukio/uke, I won't change it! Don't worry dear readers! :3

For readers that are disturbed by the appearance of unknown OCs girls, I'm sorry if they're annoying or too bitchy for your taste. They were there because I need them to be the representatives of how other people view Rin and Yukio. Because if I laid out the situation using Rin/Yukio's point of view, it would leave an impression as if they're gloating about it XD

And the genre of this story is a mixture of romance, drama, action, and maybe a little angst. I hope readers would be able to accept that because I don't really like my story to be all about romance. I love to spice the intensity of things up! *peace*

Hope that clears up everything! Just ask me if there's something that confuses or disturbs you!

Now off you go...

**LoveLess**  
><strong>Chapter 6 : Purple Blood<strong>

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"_Soul of Raphael: Pirates and the Lycanth's Legacy?_"

Yukio eyed the pale-pink booklet he had in his hand, perplexed eyes ran through the words in the script with utmost confusion.

Shiemi looked at him, a smile on her face, "You don't like the title, Yuki-chan?"

The teacher shook his head, "No, that's not it. It's just... uncommon. For a class drama, I expect something more simple like Hamlet or Macbeth"

"Well", Rin regarded his brother with a sideways glance, "Apparently not all people _worship_ Shakepeare's stories like you do Yuki-chan. Besides, pirates are much cooler than kingdom tales like that." Rin finished with a faraway look and a stupid grin on his face. Somehow, the other exorcists could see his bubble of thought which involved: Rin, whose face had morphed to a sculpted handsome look and eyes glinting stars, was bent in a supposed cool pose by holding his crooked pirate sword in a chivalrous exaggerated position.

Rin chuckled in a feverish maddened manner as he stared at the ceiling with his leg propped on one of the chairs. His hand was hovering around his chin as if he had a long goatee in account of his imaginary scooping gesture.

Large sweatdrops developed on the back of the exorcists' head.

"Uuuh", Bon hated to break the mood but decided against his sliver of pity, "I think you'd better read the script first Okumura. To tell you the truth, you are not what you think you are"

Rin, still in his on-cloud-seven mood and shimmering state, grabbed the script and flipped it open, "Oooh even better, the captain right? _'Fear me lads, I'll bring savage upon your land'_", Rin recited with first-grade haughtiness and then babbled on how cool he sounded.

Bon slapped his forehead, "Not that idiot, look at the list of the characters" Shima, who was standing near his hyped demon friend, took the initiative and pointed to a particular line on Rin's script.

Rin ceased his bouncing and read.

"You're the freaking lycanthrope"

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..

...

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THERE'S NO WAY I'M PLAYING THE CHARACTER OF SOME RABID MUTT!"

Shima howled with laughter at seeing his demon friend sputtering incoherent protests and his hands shook the script so much as if it spelled the world's end.

"Suck it up Rin-inukoi~. It's unsightly for a proper dog to bark this loudly~", he trailed in a sing-song voice and made a move to pet Rin's head.

The half-demon dodged the impending limb and was ready to 'bark' back before a voice interfered his soon-to-be-monumental-man-vs-dog-war-with-psycho-pink-head immediate reason of detention, "O-Okumura-kun", Konekomaru stuttered, flinching slightly when the furious glare was directed to him. Breaking eye-contact, he forced the words out, "I know your part is a little... hard to pull off. But as unusual as it is, I'm sure you can do-

"_HAAAARD_? More like a-thousand-percent-super-duper-huper-wuper downright IMPOSSIBLE! Someone who is responsible for this script is _IN_ for a fat piece of _THIS_!", Rin bellowed, jerking a fist with vengeance in front of him to emphasize his point of being 'pissed off'.

He slapped the script to the floor in chagrin, his furious sapphire eyes flicked around the occupants of the room as if they were the ones to blame.

Bon groaned, the noise was seriously _physically_ hurting his ear-drums, "What's there to protest about? You suit the role Okumura"

Rin fumed up even more, "Oh yeah?", the half-demon sauntered over to stand in front of Bon. His furious blue eyes glared challengingly to the taller teen, "What part of me resembles this extravagant-excuse-of-a-wolf called 'lycanth'?", he spat out the last word with repugnance.

Unperturbed, Bon regarded the 'dwarf' with a blank look. He then answered, "In case you don't notice, you have this", Bon signaled a finger to his elf-like ears, "This", he lightly pinched Rin's cheek and pointed to his pearly a-lot-sharper-than-normal white fangs. "And lastly, that", he referred to the black appendage which was slashing agitatedly through the air.

Rin slapped Bon's hand away and nursed his abused cheek. "Me having animal... 'things' doesn't make me an animal you retard", he half-growled out.

As if there's an unseen force that opposed his claim, he felt a strong tug of his tail from behind. The pain sent him turning at a break-neck speed as he snarled like an angry cat to the criminal. With bestial sapphire orbs looked downright homicidal and body bent in a ready-attack position, he unconsciously bared his fangs viciously to Shima, who held his hands in a defensive gesture.

"Look"

Rin was snapped out of his current doing as he blinked stupidly. "You even behave like an animal", Bon concluded, smirking at satisfaction at his success of pissing Rin's already-severe-patience off. The half-demon, suddenly feeling self-conscious, quickly softened his feature and stood erect once again. Within half a second, the momentary impression of an enraged animal had completely vanished, leaving a simple teenage human on its wake.

Rin struggled to keep his temper, which was hanging on the edge of the cliff right now. He glowered daggers at the pink-headed teen before turning to Bon.

"_Anyone_ would react like that if their tail was pulled", Rin spat out in defense as his quivering tail wrapped its length around his waist and chest. He protectively held it with utmost tender.

"No they wouldn't if they didn't have a freaking _tail_ to begin with"

Rin resisted the urge to pummel the chicken-butt-haired bastard to death as his mind-gears worked to figure out a more useful strategy than his desire to kill someone right now. A lighbulb appeared above his head as he leered darkly to his silent twin.

"Yukio~"

Yukio's eyebrow twitched but he remained indifferent and continued pretending reading the script. He had incessantly _begged_ beforehand, to whom he didn't know, that his silence wouldn't somehow attract his desperate brother. Guess it went futile.

Rin stood in front of his younger brother, who was sitting on a deserted chair, with a too-bright-grin plastered and tail waving from side to side in slow exuberance, "If you looove me, make the clown change the script", Rin purred.

Yukio sighed, "It can't be done"

"You love me right?"

"What does loving you get to do with anything? And the answer to your previous demand is still negative."

Rin pouted, "Oooh come on! Let's go to the clown and squeeze the life out of hi- _uuuh_ ask him to change either the script or my role. I mean no one in their right mind could produce such a stupid script, Mephisto must be drunk or high or something when he was writing it"

"A responsible school principal such as Pheles-san wouldn't be immersed in such an unsightly condition on duty"

"...you love me right?"

A tick mark produced on the side of his forehead as he gently put his script down. He cupped his twin's cheeks and pulled him closer so they were eye to eye, "Yes I. Do. LOVE. You. But it wouldn't be right for us to force him to change the script"

"And why is that?",

"Because I am sure Pheles-san has spent a considerable amount of time and effort to create and develop the storyline. It will be such an irreverent act against our principal to just discard it off", Yukio, almost like he was reading, spoke gently but firmly without breaking eye-contact.

"And yes, I _looove_ you very much nii-san", the brunette added before Rin could say anything. To emphasize his point, he leaned down and placed a small peck on the side of Rin's lips, "Let's end our argument with that", he murmured and gave his pouting brother an apologizing gaze.

_'We'll talk about this later'_

Rin narrowed his eyes. _'You'd better remember. I'll make you change your mind no matter what.'_

_'I doubt it'_

The gathering exorcists observed the scene in awkward fascination. Usually the PDA they showed were only limited in holding hands or slight physical cuddle. However, they didn't fathom it could be as close as this, hell Rin didn't even bat an eye when Yukio planted his lips near his, although them being two guys. Shiemi and Shima even tried to breath as quiet as possible as to not disturb the twins. Izumo averted her gaze with a slight blush on her face. Konekomaru fiddled his fingers nervously. And Bon was having trouble where to look.

"Ahem", out of the blue a cough alerted the crowd. All of them lifted their gazes to the door where the source of the intruder's voice came from.

"Sorry to disturb yer lovey-dovey making out session, but I've got an order for ya"

A voluptuous woman stood there confidently with one hand on hip and the other casually shouldering her sword. She paid the Okumura brothers extra attention as she noticed how they were far too close for comfort to each other.

Rin gave Shura a sneer, "We aren't making out", he said as he gave himself the privilege to sit on his brother's lap. Out of habit, Yukio wrapped his hands around his twin's hips to balance him.

Shura rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah sure, ya get my point. Anyway Mephisto gave ye all squawking chickens a mission. Prepare yer weapons and all other stuffs within 15 minutes and meet me at the South Exchange"

Izumo's unique brows raised. South Exchange, that meant they would be using the special teleportation key. "Kirigakure-sensei, where will this mission take place?", the purple-haired girl asked. Knowing the area of their battle ground against demons beforehand would prove to be an advantageous information later.

Shura's eyes brightened with glee. "Ye snotty brats would fucking _loooove_ it. Well, at least if ye don't mind the temperature. I'll give ye a hint, it's the largest desert in the world~"

Shima widened his eyes in surprise, "Huh? You kidding me? Sa-sahara desert?"

"Che, ya guess it already. No fun."

...

A tenebrous sizzling blur slashed the sweltering air in blinding speed as it dove a precise arc towards its two-legged target. The boy's wide sapphire orbs drank in the sight of the upcoming impact. Out of his demonic instinct, he weakened the force holding his right leg slightly which provided his body a-hair-breadth-away incline to be out of harm's way.

"WHOOOOAAAAA!", Rin yelled out in panicky as the tail, which was a mere inch from shredding his facial skin, struck through the ground like a fierce spear to the body of a living man. He stumbled a few steps behind in an attempt to regain his balance. Not to mention, the slippery soft sand-covered ground made it an extra challenge to acquire a steady footing.

"Easy there you stupid boneless-tailed- !"

The demon, as if knowing that the indecent swearing was addressed to it, cut the complaining teen's sentence off by snapping its massive claws at the place where the half-demon was present half a second ago.

The massive intrusion of the gigantic steel-like tail to the golden sandy ground gave life to a shower of sand as it jerked upwards. As the last grains of the smooth yellowish sand dispersed, a figure darted, closing in to the giant monster.

"A haste of misguidance in the depth of _Hallowed Ellinois Lake_ and a tinge of destined death, come forth the gods chained by eternal grudge, Tsura *to Baya!", a commanding voice ordered. A circle of light illuminated the battle ground. Its bright glow momentarily pronounced the shadow of the scorpion demon as two swift creatures burst past the temporary wall of light.  
>(AN: *to here means 'and')

One of the strong-built gods sped, sleek pure-white skin reflected the burning rays of light in a blinding glare before strong jaws clamped with power on the base of the immobile tail. The scorpion howled, and instinctively turned, forgetting about the boy it hunted. Only to be struck across its vulnerable scarlet eyes as the twin orbs crushed beneath the pressure of tough dark thorny tail. It screeched as it crashed to the ground.

In between the two animal deities, Izumo smirked. The white one, an elegant yellow-eyed shark which continuously swayed its lean body calculatively on the air, kept its sharp gaze to the twitching and currently powerless enemy. His partner, a charcoal-black crocodile with long tail swishing across the sand, snarled, waiting for its master command.

The girl opened her mouth, "Tsura, cleanse the heathen's clouded soul"

And the holy salt-water beast opened its strong jaws and a light ball swirled alive in between the velvet living creasts.

Four golden circlets dangling on a monk's staff clinked, a droplet of sweat escaped the mass of pink locks to pave its way down to a huffing neck. He inhaled deeply and jammed the end of his staff deep to the sandy ground, eyes cautiously fixed on a massive flock of the arachnids which were madly screeching its way towards him. Their segmented tails, which curved over the back, swayed side to side in their mad dash, courtesy of four pairs of legs that powerfully stabbed repetitively to the sandy ground to push their mighty bodies forward.

"Heed my calling and lend me thou warrior unyielding bound, I humbly owe thee calamity of the dragon vein", he whispered, briefly glancing down at the visible end of his staff, as the top birthed a steady green glow. The glow circled around the head of the staff momentarily before it travelled along the length and finally disappeared into the depth of the sand.

"Shima!", Konekomaru warned. His hands were intertwined to form the holy seal and a black bracelett comprised of repeating-patterned beads circled around his thin digits.

The pinkette ground his teeth, being rushed in his semi-panicked state didn't help a damn thing, "_I know_", a look of extreme concentration was visibly etched on his face. He lifted his gaze back, ignoring the streams of sweat sneaking past his eyebrows, to the scorpions which were now too dangerously close, and smirked.

As if commanded under a concealed force, four green whip-like strands of pure energy burst from the ground and, without missing a beat, sliced the air to bind the approaching demons. They stumbled but stubbornly fought their way forcefully towards the monk using sheer strength.

Without wasting any time, Konekomaru started his faithful chanting, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils _(1 Timothy 1)_; As the last embodiment of evil lurks, stains of mischief shalt perished!"

The cat-lover chose to further elaborate his understanding on aria's way of exorcism, thus strengthening his verses and holy affinity to a remarkable level. As he chanted a few lines before the four powerful demons, they cried out painful howls and then disintegrated to sand-like substance.

Shima, trusting his partner to finish up the job, had already taken custody of another fast-moving demons. Throwing his sutras, the electricity bolts of purifying power came alive and reduced the state of the monsters to mere sand.

"Ni-chan! _Hautoruni-_chan please!"

The green specter merrily tweeted and from its small body burst forth thorn-filled walls of vines. It groaned and crackled as it twined with power around the scorpions which trapped the monsters with no escape. Konekomaru knew what to do, and as the last word left his mouth, the monster dispersed.

"Yes we did it!", Shiemi exclaimed, jogging with vigor to both of her partners with a big grin plastered on her face. The trio exchanged brief words of celebration before focusing back to the current war.

A pair of spectacles flashed as a dark-clothed figure rushed across the ground of his own solitary combat. His way of fighting was clearly elaborated with the expression of thunderous rings of repetitive gunshots. Lean swift arms effectively changed the guns' course to propel each bullet straight to all the predatory arthropods flocking around him. His weapons, a twin of silver-plated hand guns with slim muzzles, were gripped tightly until the strains of muscle on his knuckles were clearly visible.

His body movement was fluid, as he fired bullets after rounds of bullets with agility and extraordinary flexibility. Crossing arms, pointing backwards, spinning, ducking, and dodging, he did all of those conspicuous parts of being engaged in an active battle with calm dedication radiating from his focused green eyes. Repeating the action of shedding used magazines with a clank, he jammed another one into the empty trunk as his other hand never abandoning the necessity of firing down nearing demons.

Out of his keen peripheral vision, a medium-sized scorpion was rushing. Not bothering to spare the single threat a glance, he finished it off with a single shot dead to the middle of its forehead

"Suguro-kun! Towards you!", Yukio, while ducking under an impending leg, yelled over the heatedly fluxing atmosphere of the battle ground.

The brash-eyed teen heeded the alert. He finished his current foe and turned towards the evil-bearing threat, "Got it teach!" He straightened his back and gave a quick look over of the scorpion.

It was big. That's all the information he needed.

He positioned his fingers in his trademark seal. "God of fortitude and unseen nature-", his dark eyes glared at the demon as he positioned his opened palms in front of him.

"-grant me the virtue of terminating these heinous forces to oblivion!", he yelled. A force of visible wind manifested and shot off from his palm, propelling straight towards the unsuspecting enemy.

In mere milliseconds, the impact of the incantation bullet had already produced a massive explosion. Leaving a dying screech ringing forbiddingly like a memorable death bell.

Rin had another swarm for himself. In his full-fledged demon form, blue fire flaring around his body like a durable armor, and the trusted demon sword securely held with vice grip around a clawed hand, Rin posed as a formidable sight and obvious threat to both humans and even demons. However, the scorpions, of which intelligent levels' were under average demons, didn't cease to bombard him blindly with their deathly weapons.

A tail lunged with horizontal propagation towards the teen. A keen blue eye caught on the movement as he swerved slightly to the side, the barely noticeable movement saved him from being penetrated straight to the heart and instead went between near his armpit. The half-demon used the momentum to swing his Kurikara and the blade cleanly cut the appendage in one arc.

Another creature shrieked from behind and Rin leaped, avoiding a sharp claw from snapping his body in half as he landed on one black hard body. He jammed the sharp end straight, drilling into the head and dragged it sideways until it drew purple blood. The unfortunate demon gurgled before slumping lifelessly with his blood pooling around its head.

A shadow loomed over him courtesy from two scorpions soaring the air towards him from a hill of sand. The creatures were shrieking in vengeance, equipped with deathly stingers which dripped with fatal venom, they truly bore the image of homicidal killing machines. Rin, realizing he had his back to the enemies, bent forward and whirled with Kurikara pointed straight. The simple spinning strategy promptly slashed the demons across their exposed thorax, earning satisfying agony-stricken yowl. He smirked as purple strips of blood color the hot air and a particularly long one smeared across his face.

And the battle continued with Rin wielding Kurikara and tiredlessly drew deathly swings and stabs in swift counterattacks from the demons' assaults. His body, lit with blue fire, bent and strained in a deathly dance as he finished off the demons one by one without a hint of hesitation. The clothes he was wearing was painted deep purple from all his ministrations in wiping the life out of every of his advancing enemy, but he didn't seem to care.

He jumped over a lashing tail and jerked his head away to avoid an avenging claw. But failed to anticipate his other attacker as a scorpion rammed its body to his right side.

"Aaagh!", he gritted his teeth in pain as his hand failed its grip on the hilt of Kurikara. The sword slided across the bloody purple-patched sand before becoming still.

He was forced to abandon his sword as a tail swang a half arc to him, "Shit!", he cursed. Using the tail to his advantage as a trampoline, he leaped away. But to his chagrin, out of the corner of his eyes he saw a black lethal stinger cutting the air towards him in incredible speed.

Shiemi saw the scene and her green eyes widened, "_Rin!_"

Rin, now body facing the projectile, eyed his possible reason of death anxiously. His left hand gripped his right forearm tightly as the spot of dark red continued to spread and spoil his white uniform.

But then he smirked, "Just kidding"

The dark-haired took a deep breath and then opened his jaws. The sight of more prominent razor-sharp white fangs was a mere distraction, what he intended was for his prey to suffer a scorching death. A swirling ball of blue fire flared to life from his mouth as he blew and the element of nature shot towards the scorpion. The fire quickly wrapped its cackling envelope around the tail and continued to engulf the animal's body. The creature shrieked as the burning energy tore through its metal-hard body and fry its tissues. And when the fire reached its vital organs, the scorpion was long dead and its body, or what remained from it, collapsed to the ground.

Rin landed soundlessly, his messy bangs covered his eyes from view as he dragged his gaze impassively to observe the screeching, more ill-driven scorpions closing on him like enraged and famished predators.

Putting getting away as the last on his list, his head bent down, instead choosing to concentrate his demonic energy. The scorpions howled, screeched, and snarled, seemingly ecstatic to see their prey to be completely still and vulnerable. But their euphoric moments were cut short when blue hellish flame suddenly emerged and engulf the entirity of their bodies like lethal contagious ailment.

And a short moment later they slumped, dead. Rin smirked beneath his bangs, eyes glinting with sickened satisfaction, in the circle of his very own blue flame flaring and draining lives around him from all the corpses and remains here and there. The dim, nearly dark sandy hills area from the sinking dawn sun was lit with faint blue color as the fire continued to dance, swaying its affinity entity in an enchanting and forlorning ritual of death.

And that marked the end of the battle.

Shiemi hurried to examine and tend her fellow exorcist friends.

As the exorcists gathered to report and had a check-up on their condition, Yukio walked towards his kneeling brother. His coat was lightly torn in several places and a long scratch marred across the length of his cheekbone, but otherwise, he was nearly unscathed.

"Nii-san", he softly called.

Obviously he noticed the injury Rin sustained from the deep red color coating the area of his forearm. True he was worried sick, anyone could tell from the obvious concern radiating off his face and the way his eyes kept darting uneasily.

But... Something... Maybe the way Rin seemed to not mind the blood trickling down his shirt, or the unconscious waves of solitary vibe his twin produced which clearly prompted anyone to stay away. Or the way he didn't seem to mind being in the circle of massacre with all the demonic blood pooling around him and coating him from head to toe.

Yukio, to his confusion, found that he couldn't bring himself to come closer.

"Nii-san", Yukio called once again with uncertainty, trying hard to probe what his twin had in mind, "Are you... okay?"

Rin didn't immediately answer. He brought his hand closer and inspected the dark color dripping off his palms. In the ray of the sinking dawn sun, the deep purple seemed to reflect a vermillion red color.

"I'm... fine", Rin answered. But his voice wavered, only slightly.

.

They had shown an extraordinary performance. It was not an understatement. The concrete proof was clearly displayed on the desert battle ground of where grostequely slain demons' carcasses laid scattered and abandoned. Rin had dismissed his flame though.

The indigenous, tanned-skinned men with tall stature who were clad with shabby linen clothings, gathered around to accost the exorcists. Similar light hazel eyes all tranfixed their gaze to the exhausted exorcists, observing them with curious fascination.

"Thank you exorcists. We really appreciate your help in disposing the demons", an elderly, with curled white goatee who was standing in front of the group of exorcists, spoke with sharp English accent, head and back respectfully bowed down in attempt to please the Japanese.

Yukio urgently answered, "Please, lift your head mister. We are glad to be of service to you"

The rest of the exorcists stood a little behind of their leader. The former exquires, now had proudly been promoted two grades up to Lower First Class, ensured the little formal goodbye-session to Yukio, their teacher that was entitled Upper Second Class appelation, a rank higher than his previous one.

The First Class exorcists looked flushed with fatigue, bandages littered over various wounded places on their body. Except for Rin. He had denied when Shiemi insisted to apply the bandage, the blond girl finally gave up after Rin reasoned by showing his near-healed forearm and his other minor wounds that had miraculously vanished. His demonic healing skill was indeed of a different level than normal humans.

The man lifted his head, however his eyes were still shining with barely-contained gratitude, "Still, the demons have been terroring us for many days now. The people are afraid to go out during the night and even in the day. If help didn't show up, I am sure we will be dehydrated and famished any short time later". Murmurs of aggrement resonated around the crowd of the natives.

The village chief gestured a hand discreetly behind his back. A moment later, a small dark-skinned girl with long-braided hair scuttled out the circle of the people, in her arms bringing a bundle carefully to her father. The chief took the bundle and thanked his daughter, "As a token for your remarkable bravery, please receive these small gifts", he presented the inside of the bundle to the exorcists. It was a myriad of traditionally-made small things which were all unique and eye-catching, no doubt the handicrafts of their culture.

"Ah please don't trouble yourself. We will receive payment from the order later", Yukio tried to refuse politely, although he couldn't help but still admired the exotic-looking things though.

"Please, I insist. Its our sign of gratitude. Receive them"

The exorcists smiled and each one stepped forward to receive their small reward of their choice. Rin, seeing Yukio immediately took a liking to a certain kaleidoscopic neatly-folded fabric, took a similar one for himself. He inwardly cherished when Yukio awarded him with a small smile. Shima grinned and patted the half-demon's back. _Twin things for twins_, his mischievous eyes seemed to confirm. Rin only blushed and glared half-heartedly to his pink-haired friend.

Shiemi, after putting a gorgeous hand-made doll in her bag, noticed a long scratch she hadn't tended that marred the pale skin of Yukio's cheek. She immediately hurried over, "Yu-yuki-chan! Your wound...", she gestured timidly to the tall brunette's face. Yukio touched his cheek and for the first time noticed the small bleeding wound. He immediately responded, "Oh, don't bother about it Moriyama-san. It's only a small scratch-

Rin stepped forward, "No need Shiemi. Let me". He tiptoed to angle his head to match Yukio's height and cupped his jaws tenderly. Then to the shock of both the natives' and exorcists' life, Rin's tongue darted out and traced a wet trail slowly over the long red line.

Yukio stayed still to allow his twin repeatedly licking his wound, although his eyes showed a hint of surprise. After several adequately-applied licks, the elder twin let go with a satisfied grin.

"Done!", he announced with glee, admiring his little brother's now scarless cheek.

Yukio, already knew that his wound had completely healed, smiled appreciatively at his brother, "Thank you"

Shima rushed over to inspect his teacher's cheek with wonder, "Woah", he sputtered out, eyes completely fascinated, "You can heal someone by licking the wound? That's awesome dude!"

Rin only smirked smugly. Even without conveying it with words, the exorcists could tell that Rin was incredibly proud of his ability.

"But how come you've never done it before?", Bon asked skeptically.

"Yukio, being the _perfect_ exorcist he is, rarely gets hurt", Rin shrugged, "And there's _no way_ I'm licking someone else's wound, _baaaaka_", the dark-haired teen arogantly stated as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Bon instantly peeved like a kettle, "I dare ya to say it again, you broom-haired wolf-wanna-be!"

As the duo quarreled, the native village chief whispered to the nearest exorcist, which was Izumo, "Um, pardon me if I'm mistaken. But… does Japan allow homosexuality?"

Izumo blushed profusely as her eyes stared at the wondering chiefs incredulously, "Wha-what? Of course we don't!", she exclaimed with peculiar English accent. The chief furrowed his brows, barely satisfied with the answer that contradicted with his perception as his eyes flicked knowingly towards the twins. The purple-haired girl's mouth went 'o' as she answered, her cheeks still hadn't subdued its bright pink blare though, "Aaah, you mean them? They're not lovers. They're brothers, uuuum-", she paused for a second to determine the right word, "-twins! Yes twins"

The eavesdropping natives whispered hotly amongst themselves in shock, "Brothers?"

After waving goodbyes, the exorcists went back through the door that spouted 'magic' that was 'magically' able to link thousands of kilometers distance from Sahara to the _Land of the Rising Sun_. The exorcists chattered happily, each excitedly telling tales of their 'awesome' battle to the other. The natives stood still to see them off, repeatedly saying 'thank you' to the exorcists. Their primary attentions however, were locked to the now newfound twins. They still couldn't fathom why brothers had their hands linked to each other in an unabashed manner and why the other exorcists didn't seem to find it weird.

After the door closed, the village chief shook his head and murmured to himself, "Brothers that age shouldn't continue to cling to each other like that. It will become a trouble in the future", he whispered to the silent scorching air. A gust of wind suddenly blew, alerting the attention of the elderly to inspect his front. Far up ahead above the lines of their dwelling, was a gale of sand-storm that was approaching towards them forbiddingly.

He quickly announced, "People, return back to your own house. There's a sand-storm coming"

The dark-skinned villagers saluted before obediently raced back to the safety of their homes.

_'Yes, just like the sand-storm'_, he inwardly pondered among the throng of the rushing villagers. Within a few long strides he arrived in the front of his own door, _'I have a strong bad premonition that an obstacle will one day challenge their strong bond'_

He welcomed himself in and closed the door, just before the first wave of tempestuous flying sand blew past his house.

_'I sincerely hope they will be able to overcome it… together'_

.

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Wheeew that's a _tiring_ chapter to write. I hope you're satisfied readers! ^.^

I love writing the fighting scene though! If it sucks please spare me, it's my first time writing a long one :-D

Sorry about the graphic fighting scene, I need to write the battle in detail to introduce their new ability after a year has passed. I don't know how their fighting style will grow because I don't read the manga, only the anime, so I'm sorry if it's veeery different than in the actual series ._.

Oh, and one more thing! Thumbs up for Indonesians who know where I got the 'Tsura' and 'Baya' words! You know your home country well my friends! XD

Stay tuned for the next chapter~ And don't forget to review! I want to know about your opinion on the scenes that was displayed in this chappie:)

~Golden Mist Fox  
>*grumble about the childish name*<p> 


	7. LoveLess 7: the Big Bang

****Disclaimer: I own nothing in Blue Exorcist except this fic's storyline and the OCs****

Welcome back faithful readers! As always, I would like to thank you for your generous reviews as well, thank you so very very much! :3

And regarding the previous chapter, actually I am quite sad to see that there were so few comments about the battle scene (I'd cried blood while writing it, well not really, but still...) Um.. Just wanna ask if you enjoy the descriptive fighting scene or just brief indications that let you know that there's a fight occuring would be enough?

Warning: No Yukio in this chap, this whole chap is dedicated to Rin. A little tedious perhaps? Poor attempts on description.

Without further ado, enjoy the chap~

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**LoveLess**  
><strong>Chapter 7 : the Big Bang<strong>

It was the prime hour of the day. The sun was perched at its highest peak of cloudless territory, glaring its mighty blaze to the picturesque landscapes below.

A striped-blue mass was seen gliding in the expanse of the mildly cool air. The butterfly, it seemed to be, beat its colorful wings rhythmically and slowly descended from the background of the boundless blue sky down to the sanctuary of greenery below. It swayed down past a scarce canopy, the fluttering top of leaves were near and obstructing but didn't hinder the creature's flight.

Sounds of various bugs buzzed throughout the neat rows of trees which lined up along a dirt-path, betraying any slightest existence of humanity. Except for one.

"Damn...", a grumpy voice muttered, "This just sucks, am I actually being pranked?"

Rin scratched his not-so-itchy head while trying to confirm the aunthenticity of the map, a small scribbled paper in his hand, by analyzing his surroundings for the umpteenth times since half-an-hour ago.

But sighed miserably. He really had no idea where was this 'special' place the clown wanted to show him.

His steps were light, despite his annoyance, the cool breeze felt really like heaven stroking his skin after all. The scene was dazzling as well. At that very moment, Rin had a sudden wish that his brother was here to admire this view with him.

Don't get him wrong, he wasn't happy at all at about this point. He was here only in account of a mysterious baby-pink envelope that was neatly decorated and placed in his school-private-locker. It was weird because the lockers had keys which obviously were given to each of the student, for private convenience, so it must be someone that had a direct connection with the school. Upon reading it, it was revealed that the writer asked him to go someplace (location provided by map) as soon as the cram class finished, alone. Then a signature that shaped suspiciously like a tall classic hat was given below, along with a generous amount of pink glitters. Clues being: Had direct connection with True Cross + pink + know the cram class + lame autograph + (another pink) glitters = Mephisto.

He ran a hand through his raven hair, lips pursed in silent thought. What did Mephisto want anyway? Being an untalented liar, he even had to lie to his brother with such a vague reason like 'having to take care of some business'. He hated seeing that worried stare his brother had given him before he left in urgent.

Before he was able to contemplate further, a sudden strong rush of air billowed on his face accentuated with a nauseous stimulation as if content of his stomach had been spurned brutally. He let out a yelp of surprise. After he recovered from the shock, he opened his wary blue eyes. Blinking the swirls out, his vision slowly cleared at the sight of... the trees that were somehow floating on the air... upside down?

It's funny to see that the dispatched dead leaves were gliding slowly upwards. Half a second later... a tick mark slowly assimilated on his forehead.

He was upside down! The half-demon sizzled in anger as he glanced upwards to find that indeed, his ancle was bound with a rope of some kind tightly to a tree.

"Look look! We caught it, Maki!"

"*Sugoi! We caught a human boy!"  
>(Translation: similar to 'cool!' or 'wow!')<p>

In alarm to the sudden exclamation, Rin's eyes automatically swiped the clearing and found two small figures. The red hooded short figures were grinning widely while examining him with mocking eyes as if he was a deer caught in their hunter trap.

Rin frowned, human boy? Why were they referring him with that appellation? His quick look-over determined the criminals to be small girls, possible not more than eight, with blonde bangs covering either part of their face, partly hidden in their large hoods. No further details could be attempted by Rin's brain as the half-demon let his anger to be blared out of the confines of his thin-veiled patience.

"*Gaki!", he growled out harshly, "Let me fucking down you rapunzel-wanna-be freaks!". In his anger, he blindly addressed the girls with what conspicuous feature he could see, which were long braids that descended down their shoulders, unusually, until the point of their ankles.  
>(Translation : brat)<p>

The girls stopped bouncing in glee at last, slightly shocked to hear the boy they captured to yell resentful titles at them. They glanced towards each other in wonder. Then they returned their one-eyed aquamarine gazes towards their victim and snickered mischievously.

"Oh? And if we refuse?"

"What could a human like you do to us?"

The 'human' boy didn't immediately answer. Instead, he gave them this stare which was neither a smile nor a glare. The girls unconsciously stopped their smiles, seeming a little 'put off' with the sudden change of attitude.

"Heh... What could I do?", Rin smirked, eyes hinted the gleam of a sadist in the pools of the dark blue ocean, "There are so many things which I want to do though, till it's hard to choose just one~ let's pick it together, shall we? First, I want to yank out your pretty blonde hair one by one till's there's none left, then roll them to nice balls for my cat's toy", the hooded girls gasped while instinctively clutched their heads, "Or I could drown you mongrels to death into the darkest depth of the Atlantic ocean. Of course... after letting the polar bears to claw on you alive", they shivered from the heinous tone and hugged their petite bodies.

"But here's my favorite... I've done this to several naughty children before~ you wanna know?"

The left one gulped, "Wh-what?"

"I took them to this scaaary~ cave far far away inside a dark forest where voices of the death whisper day and night. Then, I left them inside and sealed the entrance with a giant rock so they can't escape... so the monsters inside would tear and _eat 'em up_!", Rin finished with a dramatic made up 'monster' sound. His slightly animalistic feature of sharp gleaming fangs only further highlighting the figure of the 'monster' in his frightening story of torture, which was of course, a faux.

"_Kyaaaaah_!", the girls screamed their lungs out as streams of tears spurted out like waterfalls. They dashed away in sheer fright and were gone from sight in mere seconds.

"He-hey wait! Don't ya dare leave me hanging- _hey_!", Rin tried to locate the escaping pranksters but couldn't turn his neck further due to his current restriction. He growled in annoyance before heaving his body upwards to his bound foot. He examined the rope briefly and sighed in relief when he confirmed that the rope was still within his league to break. Grabbing both the branch and the rope, he yanked them apart with his bare hands. Within two seconds, the rope groaned and snapped, leaving loose strands of golden threads fluttering in the air. With a simple flip, the half-demon landed gracefully on the ground, unharmed but annoyed.

"Geez.. Brats these days..", he scowled before picking up his forgotten map due to his involuntary shock before from the leaves-pile. Glancing at the direction where the imbeciles left just a moment ago, his eyes widened in surprise to see a small house. It fitted nicely among the trees, as if it was a part of the vegetation itself, and was hidden from view by the trunks. That explained why he didn't see it before.

Rin stood up from his crouched position and headed towards the vine-twined broken-white-painted house you normally saw only in child's fairytale. The strips of golden light from the sun seemed to cast an ancient radiant glowing from the deserted house.

_'Why would there be a house in the middle of a forest anyway?'_

'**...**'

_'Fine, keep being a silent jerk. I'll check it out myself then... stupid Shiki'_

.

.

.

(In the cram class)

"_Koneko_! Pass that pastel scrap-paper here would ya! Glue and double-tape as well!"

"Um... How to tie a dead-knot Izumo chan? Do I need to tuck this here or-"

"Mayday mayday! We've run out of golden foil and fake leather fabric! I swear if no one-"

"Ck! The nail can't fucking get in! Shima! Where did ya put that screw dri-"

A tick mark produced at the corner of Shura's forehead, the noise was overwhelming and she seriously couldn't comprehend a single word in her magazine. It was truly generous of her to even agree in being the substitute chaperone for the stupid drama preparation, but now she couldn't even relax while being at the boring job!

"Quiet ya parrots! Stop jumping 'round like goddamn rabbits-in-heat already and get on with yer freaking works!", she yelled furiously and threw her rolled-up magazine in contempt. The projectile soared like a bullet before connecting to the nearest unfortunate object, which was Bon's head.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for Kirigakure-sensei!", Bon rubbed his abused head and glared back defiantly at the fuming woman.

"Hmmph! It's yer fault for being so noisy so my hand unfortunately 'slipped'. Besides, pray tell, why the hell am I stuck here for yer babysitters anyway? Oooh right...", Shura rolled her eyes, "That's because that insolent moley-four-eyed decided to be a jerk and ran off from his duty to take care some student council's work, isn't it?"

Shima bent down to retrieve the magazine and walked over to Shura. He put it into the woman's lap and gave her a sheepish smile, "Um, sorry if we are disturbing you Kirigakure-sensei. It's just there are so many things that needs to be done for the play's setting preparations and we are so short on hands. Plus there's no Rin-kun to help out with the heavy stuffs"

"That asshole Okumura", Bon chimed in while heaving a couple long blocks of wood across the room, "After cram class he weaseled off to do this 'important business' and left us to do the troublesome preparations! What a bastard..."

Shiemi carefully traced the marked-line of the fabric with her scissors while listening quietly. Truthfully, she didn't like to hear someone accusing Rin that he abandoned his work to laze around, "Rin won't do that. He must have had something urgent he needs to do that he can't tell us about.. *minna-san...", she said in a quiet tone to defend her dear friend from false accusations.  
>(Translation : formal way of addressing everybody)<p>

Shura clicked her tongue then focused back on the task of reading her magazine, "Like blondie has said, stop dumping everything on Okumura. I don't give a shit 'bout your pitiful life testimony or annoying whines about whatever ya need to do here. Just fuckin' tone down yer volume a little yer foo... fools...

Shura lost her ability of speech as her attention was caught on to a certain peculiar section in her magazine. Then she widened her eyes and read once more, vehemently, seeming to not believe her own eyes.

_'Thi-this... can't be...! No, calm down... I'd better confirm this in a more reliable source...'_

She abruptly stood up, "Sorry brats! I have to go do some grown-up's business. Neko! I leave ya in charge!"

Konekomaru pointed at himself, "E-eh meee?", flabbergasted.

But the curvaceous figure had left the room before the newly appointed person-in-charge could utter a word.

On her chair, the deserted magazine dangled innocently at the edge. It was open, particularly on the page of 'supernatural corner' regarding a special interesting prediction of the year. It featured a rough drawing of a full round moon. Painted red in color.

.

.

.

Rin stood in front of the chapped intricately-sculpted door. Two twin pillars, which white surface was marred with spots off flourishing moss, loomed archaically on the unkempt house porch. The wooden floorboards were cracked and liana vines slithered out of the crevices caused by time-worn age.

If he didn't know any better, he assumed that the house had already been abandoned for years. It wasn't likely that the brats disappeared here but his instinct nagged him to give the house a try. There's something... familiar, of which he couldn't acutely pinpoint.

Hesitantly he placed a hand on the smudged golden door handle. The steel felt slightly warm, further fueling up his decision.

Rin sighed, "*Kami-sama, please don't let it be a house of a pedophile psychotic grandpa or a flesh-eating hag…", he whimpered. Looking at his hazy concrete understanding of the situation, it wasn't weird that Rin suspected such thing.  
>(Translation: A respectful way of calling God)<p>

As the door cracked open, with an eerie creak, a force of chilling air rushed past him and compelling him to protectively close his sensitive moist eyes. As the last wave died out, Rin blinked his eyes open and literally went 'awed' with the sight that greeted him.

He stepped in as if being seduced by an invisible temptation as the door closed behind him. The house... no, the door seemed to be the entrance leading to an enormous garden of which luscious orderly blades of green grass stretched far and wide across the clearing, fluttering in rhythm with the delightful breeze. Across of him, a grandiose four-level fountain spurted out dome-shaped glistening water to a polished jade-shade marble tub, a statue of scarcely-clad Adonis was frozen on the top level. It led directly to a mistifying pillar-enclosed pavilion where streams of sunlight rained down kaleidoscopic glints on the marble floor, setting myriad of colors to reflect such an enthralling ethereal glimmer... like thousands of tiny marbles of diamonds.

Twin semi-circle stairways stretched down on either side of the pavilion of which ends formed smooth red winding paths decorated by pink flower beds. They branched in two for each, one leading towards him and the other circling either side of the pavilion to some complicated structures behind.

"You...", a smooth voice intoned in mild disbelief, "How can you get here, human?"

Startled, Rin quickly whipped his head to stare at the newcomer who had accosted him, though in a not so friendly manner. It was a male, with ebony short hair and cold silver eyes. He seemed to be slighter younger than him, probably twelve to thirteen years old, and there's a distinct red jagged symbol on his forehead. But, his most peculiar feature was...

"A-animal ears!", Rin sputtered disbelievingly, "You ain't human!", while pointing a rude forefinger at him. At the place where human ears were supposedly located, there were instead two black dog-like ears facing slightly downward. They blended nicely with his hair color, as if they were a part of his dark-charcoal locks.

The boy narrowed his eyes, "No, I am certainly not. Humans are not supposed to wander here, I shall wipe out your memories and return you back to the mundane world", the dog-eared male stated monotonously and stepped closer to the shock-stricken half-demon.

Rin quickly held up his hands in defense, "No no no hold on a sec!", he rummaged his pocket and offered a wrinkled pink envelope. He grimaced, "Um, it might not be in its best state but the clo- ,Mephisto sent me here. Here's the proof"

The boy eyed Rin suspiciously before reaching for the envelope. Rin gulped inwardly when he saw that the teen's lean fingers were equipped with long lethal claws, before the thin digits closed around the envelope elegantly. He brought it closer to his nose and sniffed tentatively. Then the stern line of his face visibly softened.

"Sorry for my impudence earlier, I shall lead you to him right away"

"*U-un... Pardon me for intruding..."  
>(Translation : yes)<p>

As Rin turned to leave, he glanced back behind to observe his means of entry, only as a makeshift form of reassurance. Surprise flooded his widened eyes as he saw that the door wasn't attached to any form of building, it simply was there, standing on the grassy land. The material seemed brand new and unscratched as well, plus the wood was solid and no trivial cracks could be spotted. It was like a graphic illusion, although the reality seemed to speak otherwise.

The half-demon stared at the sight for several moments, before directing his gaze back to the teen's back. They walked in silence, the mysterious suspected-to-be-demon boy preferred to fix his gaze dutifully forward. While Rin continued to marvel at the exquisite view of his surroundings. Beautiful multiple species of trees, flowers of any kinds, and the subtle chirps of delightful birds...

_'If Amahara garden really exists, it must look something like this Shiemi...'_, Rin mused inwardly. Although he still couldn't understand why an old door of a house could lead to some magical place, he still appreciated the beauty it provided. Even the warm strokes of sunlight on his back felt really great.

"Perhaps you are wondering as of what this place is and why can you end up here, hm?"

Rin jerked his head in surprise and looked at the boy wonderingly, "You will tell me?"

The boy nodded and slowed his pace to match with Rin's. His silver orbs gazed half-uninterestedly at Rin's curious blue ones, aloof and cold like metal plates that had been exposed to the most freezing winter, "This place is located separately from Assiah, particularly in a special section of Gehenna where the miasma is most scarce and the demonic particles are more adaptive to alteration. That door over there was built in order to greet a certain human _friend_, Mephisto-sama has once said. I assumed it to be you"

Rin's eyes widened into saucer-size. So this place was in Gehenna? It's a wonder how such an evil place could house a first-grade holy sanctuary like this.

"Mephisto-sama casted a barrier which separates pure Gehenna from here, so he could shelter _us_ without being extremely cautious towards other ill-mannered demons"

"Wa-wait, so there are more of you?"

"Yes", the demon answered curtly, "If you have any inquiries feel free to ask me"

"Oooh", the silence was back. Rin contemplated for a moment before asking the first question which crossed his mind.

"So... What's your name?"

The demon widened his eyes slightly before directing his questioning silver orbs at Rin. Rin raised an eyebrow, "What?"

The boy continued to stare at Rin in wonder before setting his gaze back forward, "Nothing. It is just that no one has ever asked me that before. Why do you not inquire other more crucial information, and instead ask for my name?"

Rin was confused, "What do you mean by more 'crucial' informations? True I have a lot of other questions, believe me, but isn't the most important one is knowing the name of someone you're talking to? Besides, among other things, I am also curious about you"

The demon was silent and Rin wondered if he had struck a nerve somewhere because of his kinda 'normal' speech. But the boy finally answered, "Q'ortywaal Luka"

"Eh? Q'o-q'orvy… Q'ooo- whaaat?"

"Q'ortywaal is my demon name. I have adopted Luka as my human name as an alternative for my real one in demon-tongue, which could be difficult to be enunciated by humans. Just address me with what fits your preference"

Upon hearing that, Rin quickly gave up from his attempt to pronounce his last name and decided, "Luka then. I'm Okumura Rin! You can also call me Rin, nice to meet you Luka!"

Luka blinked his silver eyes, "Rin...", he seemed to test how the name flowed in his tongue, "Nice to meet you too... Rin", Luka murmured while he smiled, so softly, as his right black ear flicked a little.

Rin stared at him in astonishment, _'He smiled! Am I imagining it or does an actual puppy somehow feature as his background?'_

Before he could mull over his inner thought further, suddenly a strong wind along with a fleeting shadow assaulted him, clearly indicating an enormous object was flying pass. He instinctively casted an arm over his face before searching the sky. The 'object' turned out to be a bird, a monster-size green bird that was flying low over the land. It screeched a long melodious tone before disappearing beyond the tower of which a gigantic bronze bell dangled. It rang once, courtesy of the strong wind the bird brought along.

"Wo-woah!", Rin pointed a shaky finger towards the sky, "What the hell was with that big bird!?"

Luka, who acted as if nothing extraordinary had happened, merely replied, "That is Urpin. One of the residents of this place"

"What?! _Resident_? That giant bird?"

Luka stayed silent before his ears perked up and his silver eyes adopted a look of recognition, "Ah, Hashiyama-san..."

Rin abandoned his task to futilely spot the majestic bird and traced the line of Luka's gaze. Inside a small roofed but open shelter, a teen sat there on the white marble floor. He seemed to be meditating, the reflection of the small koi pond situated in front of it danced on the serene structure of his face. His lilac hair fluttered along the breeze and his eyes were close. A leaf gently swayed down from a tall tree shadowing the hut, hovering close to the teen's head, before halting slightly in speed and continued its dance in a peculiarly slow sway near the line of his jaw.

_'Eh?'_, Rin blinked his eyes off the leaf when the teen opened his eyes, revealing moss-colored dark orbs.

"*Ara? A human?", he inquired in mild surprise, "Luka why do you bring a human here?", he asked the quiet teen, but there's no hint of malice or accusation behind his smooth voice. His stare was even and the clear genuine orbs somehow reminded Rin of a doe he often saw in the small rectangular confine of his TV's screen.  
>(Translation : Similar to 'huh?')<p>

"Mephisto-sama invited him here"

The teen's mouth went 'o' before giving Rin a gentle smile, "Aaah you must be the human Mephisto-sama often talks about. Okumura Rin-kun right? My name is Hashiyama Kaga, it's a pleasure to meet you"

Rin nodded hesitantly, a little perturbed at the peculiar physical feature the seemingly gentle teen possessed, "Hai. Nice to meet you too, Hashiyama" He decided to call the boy by his last name despite the fact that the teen looked about the same age as him, his reason being his aura seemed to radiate a more mature feeling.

"*Kaa-chan! Have you finished meditating?", a child voice chirped in delight.  
>(Translation : Informal way of addressing a mother)<p>

"Let's play~ let's play together with Maki and Mako!"

Out of nowhere, two hyperactive balls seemed to latch themselves at either side of his legs. They tugged the teen at opposite directions while beaming and whining cutely at the older teen. Hashiyama merely put his hands gently at both of their blonde top and smiled fondly.

Wait blonde hair?

"AAAH! You are those brats from earlier!", Rin yelled in recognition. The fury that had nearly dissipated, resurfaced back as sizzling as it was before at the mere sight of the perpetrators.

The girls gasped when they saw who had yelled, seeming to recognize the scary big brother that had said all those evil threats at them. Upon closer inspection, Rin finally realized that the girls are a pair of identical twins and the- _'No! that wasn't important at all now!'_

"C'mere yer naughty girls! Let onii-chan gives you a _proper_ punishment!", Rin rolled up his sleeve in an intimidating manner while marching forward with half of his face shrouded in threatening shadow.

Before he was able to execute his personal murder on the underage kids, a puff of pink mist blocked his path. As the waves of pink particles dissipated, a grinning flamboyant man stood at its wake.

"Mephisto!", the half-demon exclaimed in irritation.

Mephisto grinned mischievously at him, his puffy umbrella was at his hand, shrouding what small part of his body it could protect from the golden rays.

"The one and only!", he winked and a small anime-star fell out of his closed eye, "Now Luka-kun, Kaga-kun, Maki and Mako-chan, can you please leave us? I need to discuss something with dear Rin-kun here", Mephisto said while smiling brightly at the children.

They bowed slightly in salutation before obediently walked away, granting the much-needed privacy for the school principal and his favorite disciple.

"So", the taller man started, "What were you about to do to little Maki and Mako-chan?"

Rin's eyes quickly turned furious once more, "I am itching to spank their asses fucking red and throw 'em lot into a lion's de-... _Hey!_ Don't try to direct the conversation away!", Rin searched his pocket and threw down the poorly-drawn map to the ground in palpable anger, "Why do you bring me here? What's with this place?!"

"Hm?", Mephisto raised a questioning brow, "Hasn't Luka-kun told you?"

"He has but that doesn't explain a shit about why you want me here!"

Mephisto regarded the teen a one-eyed leer before popping a candy to his mouth, "As you probably have suspected, those children back then are, unlike you, full-fledged demons"

Feeling an upcoming long story that would certainly be recited, he proceeded to walk to one of the shaded smooth-gravel path. And Rin automatically fell in steps beside him.

"I gathered them here because of two reasons, either their parents had died early or simply abandoned them, which forced them to fend for themselves alone in the harsh world of Gehenna. I don't want these children to meet an unfortunate fate before they are even able to know the way of the world. So I took the initiative to raise them here properly, secretly, without the acknowledgement of the Vatican order", Mephisto briefly glanced down towards the sapphire eyes of Rin and the half-demon knew right away that Mephisto wanted him to not breath a word about this to outsiders.

"I altered a part of Gehenna where the yoki is most weak to house them. I named it _Ei no Sumai_"

"_Ei no Sumai_?"

"House A. I encourage them to train while being here, so they can face Gehenna world later when they come of age. And why 'A'? 'A' is the first alphabet in English, as you probably have known. I chose this particular name because I wish them to grow into first-grade independent demons that will be durable enough to survive in Gehenna later"

Rin was silent, processing the information quietly in his head. He then stared back at Mephisto suspiciously, "Somehow this saint-like setting of a kind man who house the orphans seems absurd to be played by you Mephisto. Is this another one of your games?"

Mephisto's face fell in mock hurt, "That's mean of you Rin-kun. Not every of my actions is done solely for my personal amusement, I simply feel the need to rescue helpless kids"

Rin still wasn't convinced but decided to drop the subject, "Then why did you bring me here? Do you want me to be their babysitter or something?"

Mephisto chuckled, "Sharp aren't you, but not quite Rin-kun. Can't you see the ironic connection? One similarity that connects you all is your lack of power to prevail in the unforgiving tainted world", the flamboyant man smirked impassively at Rin, "To put it simply", he gestured a hand towards the enchanting view presented at their left side, "I am offering you a chance to train yourself in the way of demons in this sanctuary I've conserved"

Rin stopped suddenly and gave Mephisto a wide-eyed disbelieving stare.

The school principal laughed out loud, "What an interesting face you make there Rin-kun! I wish I've brought a camera along to preserve this priceless moment!"

Rin snapped off from his chaotic thought, "Stop joking ya damn clown! Why would I want to train myself in the way of demons? I'm human!"

"Half", Mephisto reminded solemnly, "And I'm not joking about my offer. I personally think it as a rare privilege Rin-kun, considering you can train your inner demon to be of assistance to you at will at any given moment, plus automatically endow you with such a vital ability to control it. Or perhaps…", Mephisto leered down at the half-demon in cruel sympathy, "you've already forgotten about a certain _unfortunate_ event that happened to your _dear brother_ about a year ago from now? Or do you simply want to dismiss it as a mere case of _bad luck_?"

Mephisto's word jabbed at Rin's chest, obviously bringing forth some dark memory he had desperately wished to bury to nothingness. From the deepest part of his heart, he knew that his principal's words were right. No matter how hard he tried to scrub the cruel reality off, the stain would forever be there... even in the expanse of eternity. He knew that the only way to turn it right... was to prevent such thing from happening again. A sliver of doubt started to swirl in the depth of the conflicted sapphire orbs.

Mephisto smirked, his fluffy umbrella acted as a shade which concealed the upper part of his face, leaving only violet orbs which glared eerily at the confused half-demon, like a predator, "You don't have to give your answer now Rin-kun. If you are interested, just come here at whatever time that fits nicely with your schedule tomorrow. I'll be expecting you..."

"Ein Zwei Drei!"

With that, the school principal poofed out of existence. Small star papers of all colors glimmered in the pink haze of the mist surrounding a teenage demon, who was deep in a turmoil of thoughts in the empty clearing.

.

He stepped out of the door and closed the aging wooden material which rang a high-pitched groan. His sapphire eyes regarded the silent seemingly deserted door grimly, and briefly wondered how could a run-down piece of old wooden board be the entrance to such an absurdly magical place.

He sighed before turning his heels around and stepped down to the dusty traditional path.

Rin was immersed in his thought as the sounds of the forest buzzed lively at either side of him. He realized, after battling for a while in his mind's turmoil, that he couldn't possibly sort out all of these frustrating thought in his head alone considering his slight-intelligence-deprived state.

He stared at the sky and spoke out, "Hey, what do you think about the offer, hm? Should I take it?"

If one didn't know any better, an innocent bystander would definitely regard him as a man that was out of his mind because he literally talked to thin air. But, of course, the reality somehow had its own way of distorting the common fact, and this was no longer extraordinary to the half-demon.

"**Are you seriously asking me that?**", a voice rang in the demon's head, sarcasm laced at every word, "**About what I think towards the offer of literally letting you gaining control over me?"**

Rin smiled, satisfied that 'he' decided to respond at last, "Took you a while to finally join the company. And don't be too defensive about it, I am not talking about taking full control over you dummy"

A white rabbit scurried out and sniffed curiously among a jumble of jutted root. A flowery bush rustled, revealing another rabbit with black fur which hopped closer to the first one, and together they leaped out of view. Rin smiled, "Don't you see it Shiki? You polishing our demonic power and me getting to train my physical and mental power to make the best out of it! We can get stronger... together!", Rin declared in enthusiasm, his clear blue eyes were shining and he unconsciously had spread his arms wide to emphasize his point.

Yes, he and Shiki were one. They originated from a single soul and shared a body together. Rin was their human representation while Shiki existed as a consciousness of Rin's inner demon. At first, Rin denied his red-eyed existence, thinking it as his bestial and homicidal desire of his darker 'cursed' nature of which he loathed and feared since his grieving discovery, a demon. And he despised it even more when that 'mistake' happened a year ago. Yet, little by little, as time flowed like a gentle river which slowly cleansed his initial contradiction of darker self, he was able to accept his other half. They were one, and each was nothing without the other. Together they were 'Rin'

Shiki scowled and leaned back with his hands behind his head, **"Still, I don't think that Mephisto did it solely out of good heart, there must be something behind it"**

"Hm I do think that too..", Rin nodded dutifully, "but who cares anyway! As long as it tastes sweet, the clown's hidden plan or something doesn't fucking matter to me!", Rin shouted while laughing heartily in child-like exuberance, before he abruptly felt his mouth was clamped shut on its own accord.

**"Sssh sssh you idiot!"**, Shiki yelled in a hasty reprimanding tone, **"Don't talk out loud like that baka! Don't you fucking realize that we're outside of the forest already?"**

True, the forest were now far behind him, as Rin just had realized a moment ago, that the modern infrastructure of the prestigious True Cross academy began to litter around them. Rin smiled sheepishly at the students who gave him weird stares, courtesy for his uncalled-for earlier outburst.

_'Sorry'_, Rin winced a little.

**"Geez...'**, the voice inside his head seemed to have just entered his trademark chastising mode, **"it's better for you to speak to me mentally even when we're alone, otherwise that annoying apathetic nature of yours will only decrete your already pitiful sense of self-consciousness. Please be a little considerate, you're already so stupid that you've surpassed the world's common understanding of that very word"**, he chirped in a mock chatty-old-grandma like tone.

Rin scowled, _'Shut up! If I do that, it would feel as if I'm talking to myself!'_

**"You are currently doing that, airhead"**

The half-demon just closed his eyes in exasperation. Really, this was what he hated the most about his other half. Shiki seemed to possess such brilliant intelligence which surpassed that of his. And the red-eyed knew that, and used it to win every of his arguments effortlessly against Rin. For the love of kami, he still couldn't comprehend how it was possible that his inner thought could be superior than him in the term of intelligence when they were literally the same person.

He continued chatting mentally with his inner self as his steps automatically took him heading towards his dorm room, thinking that the cram class activity must have had finished considering how long he had been out. But somehow, the sun was still considerably high on the sky, indicating it was still around two or three by max. Weird... he was fairly sure that he spent quite some time inside the newly-discovered _Ei no Sumai_ earlier inside the Eastern grand forest. _Did all those stressful brain-killing events make him actually lose count of the time?_

Suddenly, his acute hearing caught on to a cacophony of noise occuring ahead of him. He was initially about to dismiss it as some students gathering somewhere after school, but the noise was somehow... a bit too rough.

Of course, Rin couldn't leave it just at that and decided to come closer. As he got near, the noise grew louder in volume and intensity, further building on his suspicion.

As he went around a porcelain angel statue, ahead of him, where a decorated garden bench stood near a white-lily flower-bed, there seemed to be some white-clad students with tall stature laughing while gathering around something. The Karate club. And it turned out that it wasn't something that they circled around, but rather someone, a small spectacled teenager that was cowering in the middle of them.

"What's the matter kiddo? Suddenly gettin' so quiet after daring to collide into our Oyabun? Cat has gotten your tongue?", a bulky teenager taunted with a mocking smirk intacted on his face.

"So-sorry", the little brunette whimpered, "I didn't see-

His word was stopped short as another dark-haired Karate club member kicked him, "You didn't _see_? Then what those eyes are for, you dumbass? If you don't need yer eyes then just gouge 'em out already!"

Rin had seen enough to be able to grasp the situation and without much thought, advanced on the circle of people. He punched one of them square on his back. The male's mouth opened in a silent scream and then dropped down into a twitching heap. His friends seemed to notice this as they quickly fixed their furious attention to the intruder.

"How _dare_ you attack a respectable member of the Karate club! Do you wanna die teme?"

Rin gave them a disgusted gaze, "Heh respectable? Don't flatter yourself with such a big word like that you trash. In my eyes, you are no more than cancer-diagnosed old lions which prey on helpless young deer and couldn't pick someone their own size"

The said 'cancer-diagnosed old lion' fumed up even more but before he was able to assault Rin, a muscular hand stopped him. It belonged to an even bulkier-built man who had an intimidating face, moreover with the piercings that adorned his nose and ears.

_'The leader'_, Rin knew right away.

"Don't waste your strength on a mere oral-fight Tetsuo", he smirked arrogantly, brown eyes regarded Rin mockingly, "Prepare yourself. I will beat you half-dead in no time to teach a much-needed lesson for assholes like you.. shorty"

A tick mark appeared on Rin's forehead when he heard the added nickname, his piercing glare seemed merely cold but in the inside he was boiling with raw fury. Adrenaline pumped at every vein of his body to prepare for the upcoming fight, the fight of which he would surely win.

The leader attacked, striking Rin with sharp blows and precise kicks from years of intensive martial-art training, infusing each strike with mind-blowing power. However, Rin avoided every of the strike fluidly with minimal body movement, in ease, his hard eyes dutifully continued to follow his enemy's movement in patience.

The bulky man seemed to become more agitated from Rin's continuous dodging, "Hey don't just dodge away you coward! Fight me back!"

Rin smirked suddenly when he saw an opening at the enemy's unguarded left torso. Without wasting the golden opportunity, he rushed forward, closing the distance between them in a mere blink with a terrifying speed. The man widened his eyes in shock but it's too late as Rin had already landed a sharp punch to his chest, sending him reeling back several metres behind... before collapsing down to a stationary slump.

Rin 'hmmph'ed and then walked towards the gawking circle. They backed away instinctively as Rin got nearer. All white-clad teens shared a single line of thinking; the short slightly-skinny-built weak-looking *kouhai single-handedly beat their strongest club member, that was their Oyabun, without handicap! The blue-haired teen stopped in front of the kneeling brunette and stared at him concernedly, "Are you hurt anywhere?"  
>(Translation : what upperclassmen use for addressing their younger juniors)<p>

The bespectacled boy shook his head timidly, "Only a little sore.."

Rin smiled a little and offered his hand. The chocolate-haired nerd-like male took it shyly as Rin pulled him to his feet. The boy was slightly shorter than Rin and his uniform revealed that he belonged to the same year as well.

"Arigato", he spoke quietly in a distinct accent, his honey-suckle colored eyed which seemed unusual for a Japanese looked up at him gratefully, "...for helping me. Many people just went past by and didn't try to help. You're the only kind one who did", he smiled in gratitude.

Rin's chest swelled up at the feeling that he was able to help someone. His monstrous strength was at least could be useful at times like this.

"*OYABUN!", a loud chorus was suddenly heard. Rin was startled and looked towards the source of the voice. There, the Karate club members were on their knees with their heads bowed down respectfully.  
>(Translation : A respectful way of calling the leader of YakuzaJapanese-mafia)

Rin produced a dumbfounded look while pointing at himself incredulously, "Ya talkin' to me?"

One of them lifted his head and shouted in a loud voice, "You've shown such great strength and admirable heart to us all, Karate club members. It is a charismatic person like you who is so passionate about fighting, oh great sleeping dragon, that is yearned to be a part of Japanese traditional martial-arts! Therefore, with all due respect, we humbly ask you to become the respectable leader of True Cross Karate club!"

Rin sweatdropped at the unbelievable turn of event. First he was offered to train himself as a demon and now was appointed the position of some Karate club leader?

"We beg you OYABUN!"

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Phew, that's a lot... 7000 words? I really should learn the skill of shortening the length of words... although I've made it as to-the-point as I can o.0

And now the OCs, I don't know if any of you like the idea of it or not but to be honest, I don't really like using OCs. But it is quite necessary for the plot line because there is a definite lack in the number of the characters for Blue Exorcist anime, I dunno about the manga though because I haven't read it very far. Please be considerate and let me hear what's your opinions about 'em!

By using this chap, I'm trying to expand Rin's world by adding some new elements which will be necessary in later chapters. The discovery of his demon is something I've been itching to write and show it to you dear readers~ his other-half's character is quite a hard one to write because he must share a definite characteristics as Rin but also has a defining distinguished one as well... :D

Shiki(kanji: 指揮) means command/direction. Think it by yourself why I deem it as fitting for 'him' from here and later chapters.

Review~ Let me know what you think because I take every review into account when I start developing the turn of events for every next chap:)

~Golden Mist Fox


	8. LoveLess 8: Start of a Normal Day?

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed**

Welcome back!

Warning: None

Things might tone down for now but don't let your guard down! (evil author chuckles in the background) :3

**LoveLess**  
><strong>Chapter 8: Start of a Normal Day?<strong>

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"_What_?", Rin snapped, head tilted upwards due to the extreme height difference between his conversing partner and him. Yukio was standing beside his twin, he curiously tried to pinpoint the reason of the unfriendly exchange. They were walking home after the drama preparation when this guy accosted them, but Rin immediately acted as if they were life-time enemies.

The brunette flinched as he took a barely-noticeable step backwards. It was a peculiar event to see a considerably taller man with slight muscle rippling over his shirt cowered visibly to a lean man with tiny stature.

"U-uh", he stuttered, fiddling with a white paper in his hands, a big 'Registration Form' was written at the top, "About our offer yesterday, are you interested in joining the basketball te-

"For fuck's sake, what part of 'I know nothing about basketball' you don't understand?!", he hissed with voice dripping with venom, "Now scram before I shove your black-striped bouncy orange ball up your candy ass!"

Within seconds, the brunette had practically flown out of both twins' sight.

Rin huffed, obviously irked. Since his flashy encounter with the Karate club, rumors about his extraordinary performance had spread like a wild fire throughout the school. The ones who paid him most interests were clubs which required physical endurance, such as baseball, judo, soccer, swimming, aikido, and the list could go on and on. But of course, the most persistent of all was the Karate club, calling him Oyabun Oyabun and following him everywhere like demented lost puppies.

Thankfully they were nowhere in sight at the time being. Otherwise, he didn't guarantee he could keep from wanting to scorch the insufferable white-suited guys with his demonic fire and practically blew up whatever secret identity he had for the whole school to witness.

"What was that all about?", Yukio curiously inquired.

"Nu'thin, only a person with too much time to waste about. Didn't stop him from tryin' to steal mine though"

Yukio decided to not probe further considering the face Rin had at the moment was sooo dark that it was challenging to even determine his real expression.

Rin suddenly released his hold in Yukio's hand, "Sorry, need to do sumthin' somewhere", he quickly reasoned at seeing Yukio's confused look. Gone his earlier moody glare, replaced with the sweetest smile he shared only for his brother's privilege, "Go home first. And don't talk to strangers!", he added in mock stern voice before dashing off in a light run to one of the forked ways.

"Wait! Where are you going?", Yukio attempted to run after him. Chasing after a fleet shadow which disappeared beyond the tree, he rounded a corner but then found himself to be the only occupant at the place. At the entrance of the Eastern grand forest.

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**"I've told you, you should have left without him from the start dummy. He definitely will shower you with troublesome questions later"**

Rin shrugged and stepped up the aged wooden porch, "Couldn't help it, my time with him is limited already, furthermore with this stupid House A plan. At the very least we have to go home together"

**"Hmph you and that brother complex of yours sh-**

"Shaddap!", Rin hollered as he slammed the door open, not bothering to care at hearing the pitiful groan of its aging matter.

Rin suddenly stood still, frozen in his place after scanning the clearing he had come upon yesterday. No, the majestic impression of the place was no longer what rendered him speechless and stunned.

The sun was... already setting at the far west horizon and the subtle signs of night had chased most light out above him.

_'It's nearly dusk here?'_, Rin took a hesitant step forward, his gaze tried to unravel the peculiar event of time. He recalled just a moment ago the heat of the sun hampering his back in the forest, indicating it was supposed to be noon time.

A gentle bark voiced at his feet, immediately catching his full attention. A hound-sized dog met his gaze in a clash of blue and piercing silver. Fur painted with dark midnight hue, it seemed so frightening from its impression of nearly blending in with the blackening vicinity.

"Luka...", Rin breathed, confirming its identity due to the red distinct mark on its forehead. The animal flicked its head in what could be roughly translated as a nod as it turned around and started walking forward.

The half-demon wordlessly trudged behind it.

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Luka led him through sections he hadn't had chance to explore before in Ei no Sumai.

On his left, rows of well-groomed trees were neatly lining the side of the road. They had repeating bulb-tipped branches and small reddish leaves dangled here and there. And at the right, a garden filled with weird but exotic-looking flowers spread wide in hectares. The crowns were painted in absurd striking blue and electric yellow, and bright spots of fireflies delicately floated above the corolla. It seemed so unearthly ethereal, as if he had stepped into another world and admired the nonsensical beauty.

Walking a little bit further, they reached their intended destination. At the end of the small path the gardens had diminished, leading to a clearing filled with giant trees with low branches lining on the left. Further front, two hills which were separated by a beautiful valley faced each other.

After taking in the sight of the new place, Rin noticed that Luka had vanished towards the side of a person sitting on a lone bench. The person, a male with long white hair kept in a loose ponytail, petted the black dog behind its ears endearingly.

Upon noticing Rin, he stood up and put a friendly smile, "Welcome Rin-kun, I am Setsu, a wind demon and your training mentor for today", his smooth voice flowed like honey and his kind violet eyes immediately ceased the thumping of Rin's heart which formerly dreaded this training session. This new teacher seemed to be a very gentle fellow, what with the kindness that seemed to radiate off his very presence and the mature expression he wore on his face.

"Uuum.. Hi! Looking forward to... training under you Setsu-san, I guess...?"

Setsu smiled brighter in response then his violet eyes lighted up. He seemed to have noticed something.

"Rin-kun", he walked towards the half-demon who once again had to look up due to his shorter height. Rin widened his eyes when Setsu reached a hand towards his shirt. He visibly blushed when the older man groped a section of his shirt, more like at a particular lump.

"You have a tail..."

"Ye-yeah, I'm a half demon after all"

Setsu let go of his clutch and smiled satisfactorily, "Good! Please let it out, it will help you in our first session!"

Rin cocked an eyebrow.

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"A-are you sure th-this is sa-safe?", a terribly shaking voice squeaked out, a bit too high pitched though.

"Hm? Of course it is, I've tried it a number of times and came back in one piece. You'll be fine, as long as you don't _fall down_, that is"

Rin gulped and eyed down the sheer slanted cliff just under his toes in horror. Perspiration streamed down his flushed face and his stomach churned in angry turmoil. One could easily relate the panicky in his face to what a chicken might have when its time of death to the butcher knife was near.

The cliff was somehow connected to the other side by jutting high rocks which surfaces were flat enough for a person to step on and live. Unfortunately, the surface barely fitted two feet on and it was spaced ludicrously far apart from each rock to the other!

To put it simply, he was dead meat. Maybe in another 10 seconds or so.

"What does this have anything to do with becoming stronger anyway?", Rin tried to reason, "I can wipe a whole horde of psychotic giant scorpions off, I don't see this as necessary Setsu-san"

"For instance, your strength and combat ability are extraordinary, I am aware of that. But Mephisto-sama told me that you lack control and tend to flair too much power in strikes that you tire quickly. Of course you last longer than most people but we can't let such a talent to go off into nothing can we?", the demon explained thoroughly, the evident maturity was infused in each word, making even the hard-headed Rin to think twice. Did he really have that kind of stupid flaw?

"Well come on!", Setsu's cheerful voice chirped, "Don't be shy, you can do it!" He promptly shoved the half demon forward.

Rin shrieked in utter terror as he, at the same time attempted to balance himself on the rock and turned back to the safe zone. But a blow of strong wind immediately put-a-definitely-no-sign-to his latter one. Rin was wise enough to choose surviving from taking a suicide dive like that SkyFall James Bond movie he watched. Only what waited him down there wasn't peaceful river water, but menacing sharp rocks that seemed to chant his death.

"Stop that wind! Are ya crazy?! I'm freaking falling here!"

"Focus Rin! Don't be afraid of the wind, trust it and let your body flow alongside the nature. Refrain from doing unnecessary body gestures and keep your balance. Wave your tail and use it to maintain from falling off, it's just like mimicking the grace of a cat!", Setsu shouted in full cheering-for-your-race-horse mode. Rin could totally sense the happiness that killing-words-of-courage intoned.

"To hell with that stupid psychological dancin'-like moves! I'm not a freakin' believer to the flow-with-the-current principle!", Rin roared in full blown anger and fear, "And I ain't a cat-_GRAAAAAAH_!"

During his feverish complaint, Rin stepped on a loose rock which wrecked his balance completely. The last red ray of the sun left, serving a nice background to a falling silhouette of a young teen. Who was screaming his lungs off upon the prospect of instant death.

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Yukio was about to head out of their dorm door before it was slammed open roughly. He instinctively clutched the handle of his gun before noticing who staggered inside.

"You're back...", the spectacled teacher voiced as his eyes immediately absorbed the outer appearance of his brother. To say that Rin was a mess was an understatement. His twin looked as if he had gone through a storm and dried himself manually with monster-sized fans.

"*Tadaima..", Rin announced without energy, what with his slumped back, disheveled hair, and mysterious bags under his eyes even though he went early to bed yesterday. Then he noticed the casual clothing Yukio wore along with his old duffel bag, "You goin' somewhere?"  
>(Translation: I'm home)<p>

Yukio eyed his twin, worry evident in his eyes, "Yes, to town. I was assigned to buy some supplies for the drama"

Rin's eyes shone in disapproval, "To town? Alone? I'm going too!"

"Uuuuh, I think it'd be better if you just rest. I can go alone, you don't have to worry-

"Absolutely _no! _Who knows what sort of strangers or evil old men out there that might get you!", Rin immediately flew upstairs, "Just lemme change clothes first!"

Yukio sweatdropped. Sometimes the degree of his twin's overprotectiveness was beyond his knowledge to comprehend. Even when Rin looked strangely dead beat he still insisted on tagging along to 'protect' him, despite the fact that he was a male himself.

The brunette then frowned, _'It is two days already that he went home exhausted after going off somewhere... Just what is this so-called 'business' and mysterious 'place'? '_

Yukio wasn't nosy, but the fact that his twin was deprived of his usual energy worried him greatly.

He promised himself to dig around later.

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They took a two-hour train to reach their destination, a famous shopping district at the heart of the town. Yukio had dutifully inspected every shop and inspected the prizes meticulously to deal the most fund-saving purchases. Rin had, thankfully, retained his bouncy personality back as he awed and marveled at every intriguing shops and exotic things being displayed at the windows.

"Look look Yukio! Vietta ice cream booth! My favorite!", Rin energetically referred to a cozy booth which was selling the love of his palate. Yukio smiled warmly at seeing the happy glow his twin's blue eyes radiated as he let himself being dragged by a giddy Rin.

"Please? A scoop?", Rin puppy-eyed Yukio by rounding his eyes as cute as he hoped to be possible.

Yukio handed him money with a smile, "Of course nii-san, you can even get two scoops"

As Rin happily chose his choice of flavor from the assortments in the mini-display-fridge, Yukio looked around and noticed a shooting booth only across from them.

"What're ya lookin' at Yukio?", Rin stood beside his twin, his tongue eagerly darted to lap at his double-scoops of ice cream. He then saw the particular booth, "Interested?"

"Well... A little bit but-

"Ok then let's go!", Rin once again pulled his twin along towards the weaponry-art booth.

The young male behind the counter smiled before greeting the new customers, "Welcome to our Can Shooting Booth! So which one of you wish to try? Or perhaps both?"

Rin grinned as he gently shoved his younger brother forward, "Just him please!"

Yukio tried to dismiss his brother but gave up when he had involuntarily placed his arms on the counter. It'd be rude towards the proprietor, his conscience reminded. He smiled towards the male before observing the shooting challenge. There are several cans lining up far behind, approximately 15 feet from the counter.

It was no problem to him. Yukio gripped a long old-model shotgun provided and confidently took aim. Rin was standing behind him, a smirk situated leisurely at his lips.

BANG!

The air bullet soared towards the target and connected. _'Eh?'_, Yukio was sure it hit, but the can only wobble a little before becoming immobile and perfectly straight once again.

"Ooow, that's almost perfect mister!", the young male exclaimed in fake sadness. Yukio pursed his lips when seeing the obvious mirth dancing on the chocolate orbs. _The cans obviously had been tampered beforehand._

The young male moved outside his counter, "Your shooting stance is a bit lacking. The arms need to be spaced apart as well as your feet. Here let me show you"

Rin frowned. He wanted to make a point that Yukio was far from lacking in the shooting department, in fact he was downright professional. But he decided to say nothing considering Yukio kindly accepted the offer of 'shooting stance lesson' from the teen.

_'He's too damn polite, seriously...'_

Yukio stood still as the young male moved behind him and gave him brief outlining of the 'proper' stance. However he got a bit uncomfortable when the instructor's hand lingered meaningfully on his thigh when attempting to position his legs.

"Your elbow needs to be exactly perpendicular-", he spoke near to Yukio's ear and stroked a totally-not-healthy light touch on his arms. The young male then traced the length of his spine, going lower and lower obviously intending to-

"Um... Sir-

Yukio's words were cut short when he felt that the touches suddenly left his body as he heard a thud and a terrified yelp. He turned around to see that... Rin had the guy pinned to the wall, legs dangling hopelessly as his brother choked him by the scruff of his neck.

"You...", Rin glowered in a murderous glare, "How dare you touch him like that *teme..."  
>(Translation: bastard)<p>

The teen, although terrified, managed to choke out, "I-it's only for demonstrati-

"Shut up! I can differentiate innocent contact from fucking disgusting ones dammit!", Rin growled out dangerously. The young male's breath hitched as he saw the homicidal pair of blue eyes that were formerly smiling at him. He looked so innocent before, but now all there was was a display of monstrous strength accompanied by a furious glare which practically demanded his funeral. He gripped Rin's arm by the two of his own larger hands but the limb didn't even budge from the disturbance.

"Let me make it clear, I despise scumbags that dare to lay even a finger on him. The only one allowed to touch him beyond friendly terms is _me_. Yes me, even though I'm a fucking midget unlike you", he hissed menacingly with venom dripping off every word.

"Nii-san, let him go", a soft voice sounded behind him. Yukio concernedly looked between the two as he calculated a number of ways that could calm Rin down. His brother, when being seriously mad, was quite adamant to solve everything with violence. Especially things that were related to his little brother's well-being.

The young male, completely terrified and seeing that Rin didn't plan to let go quickly shouted, "I-I'm from the TV show III F, 'Fun-for-Fellows!' We are only aiming to sh-share the reactions of passerby who are caught in the pranks! No harm intended!"

Both Rin and Yukio put a confused look, "Huh?"

"In fact, the camera is rolling right now! Look!", he pointed to a certain direction. The twins looked towards the particular section pointed. Yes, there were in fact hidden cameras innocently situated at the corner of other shops. A few of stunned cameramen were watching them with wide eyes as well.

Yukio tapped his brother's shoulder, "Rin..."

Rin growled low but reluctantly let his grip go. The young male fell down unceremoniously on his butt.

"What the heck...", the teen looked up to see Rin condescendingly gazed at the whispering crew, "Using someone's idiotic reaction for the other's amusement is okay for me. But sensual contact like that? That's gone too far", Rin stared down at the male with scolding eyes. Although he was angry before, the young male was glad that his intended friend's 'victim' was able to see the fact that he was only following the script.

"Sorry. Please excuse our impudence", the young male stood up, then he sheepishly laughed, "If I had known that you two are lovers, I would have chosen other people"

Rin's jaw dropped open and Yukio merely raised his eyebrow, "Wha-

But the young male had already left them to join with the other crews. He conversed enthusiastically with his other teammates and the girl in the team giggled, no doubt talking about what had transpired between them. Rin's acute hearing prompted the tip of his pointed ear to redden at hearing the disturbing conversation.

"We aren't lovers dammit! And what do *_'tachi'_ and _'neko'_ even freaking mean? And no, we don't fuck each other every damn night nor experiment various sex positions!", he shouted, jolting other passerby from their leisure walk and causing Yukio to blush tomato red.  
>(Translations: other words for 'seme' and 'uke')<p>

"_We're brothers!_"

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Thank you for reading!

For anonymous reviewer Mizuki: Thank you very much for the criticism! Yes I do feel like I always jump too quickly from one scene to another but if I don't do that, is it possible that the reader might get bored? Because this story needs a lot development scenes and if I drag it too long than the words might swell out of control (And I have a bad habit of writing things unnecessarily long) :) Once again thanks for the constructive criticism! I hope you continue to voice whatever things that doesn't sit well with your taste because it helps me a lot! :D

Review folks!

~Golden Mist Fox


	9. LoveLess 9: Worries

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed**

Dum dum dum! Behold, loveless chapter 9 is here! Rest assured, the author is still alive and typing :D

Without further ado, please enjoy the chapter~

**LoveLess**  
><strong>Chapter 9: Worries<strong>

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_His steps were light as he was in no hurry. A hectic day as a full-fledged exorcist had thoroughly sapped the brunette's energy, yet he didn't want to use the transportation keys in hope of running into his twin, a new habit he bore since days before._

_The stream of sunset's light, which steadily rained down upon him from the western horizon, was suddenly blocked. Feeling something was amiss, Yukio ceased his lone walking._

_Green eyes looked up and locked gazes with smug brown ones._

_"Ohgya? What do we have here? Is it not the little brother of that Okumura bastard?"_

_Several figures appeared and circled the young teenager, completely blocking off his exits. They're of different body-built, but one thing was the same, their clean-white martial-arts clothing._

_"Let us return our dearest kouhai's warm greeting the other day back"_

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Days had passed like a blur since his twin's first disappearance right after the cram class. Since then, he tried to keep stricter track of him, but to no avail.

Rin was as elusive as an eel, one time Yukio was positive he had all eyes and ears on him, next thing his quirky brother had simply slid off his fingers. Vanished.

_'But today...'_

Yukio peered an inquisitive eye from behind a pillar. He adjusted his glasses, the reflection of his conversing brother glinted off the clear spectacles.

Rin was strolling alongside a fair girl as they were engaged comfortably in a merry chat. It seemed that since his 'tenacious and heart-throbbing' encounter with the most fearsome male in the whole school, his profile had risen in popularity.

_'... I'll definitely find out this 'business' you attend to every day!'_

"Hahaha so you join the women Karate club because of me?", Rin asked in a benevolent manner, his amiable eyes glanced amusedly at the shorter girl beside him.

The girl answered ardently, "Yes! When I saw you saved the first-year from before, I got this push to also train martial arts. Maybe if I do, I can be stronger than I am no-

Rin listened quietly before he felt a tug at the corner of his mind, something he experienced when Shiki wished to talk to him.

**"Rin, you have someone tailing you, a certain brother to be exact"**

_'Yeah I know'_, his sapphire eyes leered, a hem of black clothing poked out at the pillar's side, just barely visible for his inhumanly superior sight, _'He's getting impatient'_

**"Well we can't leave it at that, can we?"**

_'Sure, leave it to me'_

"-so that's why I hope other people will someday see me as a stronger person if I join Karate club, like you!", the girl finished her enthusiastic rant and looked expectantly at Rin.

Rin smiled a little, "Oh, but I don't join the Karate club"

"You don't?", she sounded bewildered, "Why not? If you join such an awesome club, you'll be popular and everyone will be forever reminded that you're a hero!"

The female student waited for Rin's response but, unexpectedly, an arm strongly pulled her into a dark and narrow alley. A gasp escaped her as her back was pressed to the teen's chest, then his available palm was placed on her mouth. For a while, she could do nothing other than quivering in shock. As a normal girl, to be wrapped in the arms of a very attractive male in a dimly-lit secluded place, it was highly understandable.

She took a sharp intake of breath and with a heart drumming furiously against her ribcage, she glanced upwards.

Rin's gaze was fixed to a certain direction she couldn't pinpoint, his expression stern and hard. But the tense muscle holding her relaxed after a while and Rin smiled down at her easily again.

"I don't care about popularity. And I'm not everyone's hero as well", he released her. The girl locked gazes and found she couldn't look away from the eerily shining blue orbs.

"I just wish to be one, only for my most _beloved_ person. _Nothing_ else matters to me" Silent seconds past, then his serious expression broke and a grin swiftly replaced it.

"Well", Rin easily leaped out and waved to her, "Sorry 'bout that, see ya!"

The girl stared dazedly at Rin's retreating form before she blinked rapidly into focus. She blushed heavily as the recalled event came rushing back into her in a heightened sense of self-consciousness.

The female student timidly fixed her appearance before walking out. All the while she couldn't help but wondering who was the-suddenly-popular-bad-boy-type guy's most 'beloved' one.

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Rin whistled as he walked down the road leading towards the forest.

**"Well that's lucky of us. Now your brother is probably cursing you a painful constipation somewhere"**

"Nah...", Rin smiled as a snow-white butterfly glided above his head and shrugged, "That's unlike him. He probably will just make a mess of his hair and go stomping a foot down like a child"

Shiki rolled his eyes, **"Oooh the mental image~"**

"Hey it's true!"

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Yukio fell into a stop from his mild run as he whipped his head wildly from side to side, hoping to catch sight of a blue-black head. He scowled when nothing useful came into sight.

_'Damn I lost him!'_

He ruffled his hair in frustration and jammed a foot down angrily. Of course, after making sure the school ground was vacant of watchful eyes.

He was about to give up when a voice amusedly greeted him.

"Well, well, Yukio-kun~ Quite a stalker aren't you?"

Yukio's scowl deepened as he calmly faced the man who was gallantly posing behind him. _With his trademark fluffy umbrella._

"What do you want... Pheles-san?"

Mephisto smirked, his slanted eyes were ever emotionless unlike the rest of his facial muscle, "Ouch, don't be so hostile Yukio-kun. I can see that you shamelessly stalk a certain person across the _whole_ school ground, even though he clearly doesn't wish any person intruding his business, what with him basically _circled_ the long way around to _lose_ you. But fear not, I'll keep the knowledge of this unsightly behavior as _my own_ privilege~"

Yukio gritted his teeth in annoyance at hearing the deliberate mocking tone of sarcasm laced in the demon's voice.

"I don't 'want' anything by the way, this humble school principal just wish to help you~", Mephisto winked knowingly, his eyes, which seemed apathetic to most people, were strangely unnerving for the teacher.

Yukio frowned, confusion shone through his eyes, "Help… me?"

"Exactly! I'll show you what you want to know the most..."

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_CRASH!_

_The teen gasped when his back slammed to the rough brick wall, his glasses were thrown off the bridge of his nose from the impact._

_"Hm, not so tough like your brother aren't you? Prissy four eyes..."_

_Laughers rang sonorously in his ears as the cornered teenager frowned disdainfully. His hand sneaked into his uniform, debating his next move while his fingers danced doubtfully on the metal texture of his hidden gun._

_But then decided otherwise._

_He retracted his hand as green eyes glared defiantly._

_"You still have the guts to glare back at us?!", the inimical male growled, "I'll beat you to sludge teme!"_

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Orange and red leaves gently fluttered down from the mourning branches. They twirled uncoordinatedly as wind particles guided them to dance gracefully about their mother-tree, before landing soundlessly on the spacious leaves bed.

The area was undisturbed until a foot slammed down on it, staggering several paces behind.

Ragged breathing could be heard puffing out a pair of fanged lips, "How can you do that?" He cursed when he parried another strike with his *boken

(Translation: wooden sword for training)

Kaga, the lilac-haired demon, smiled, "Do what?"

As he went to strike, Rin quickly flex his sword, but once again, becoming bewildered by his sparring partner's speed. The falling autumn leaves seemed to stall in movement, flowing slowly around the dark-green-eyed demon as if they're sinking into dense mercury.

Rin leaped away, panting as a trail of blood streamed down his cheek, "That. You couldn't be that fast. I've assessed your speed before, but somehow I can only keep up with you with my eyes. Is that a demonic trick?"

Kaga shook his head. They're carefully circling each other in a small clearing surrounded by deciduous trees, whilst keeping attentive eyes to the other's movement, "This is my ability. I am a quartz demon, I can slow things around me or make them go faster. In otherwords-", he parried Rin's oncoming attack, "-I control time"

Rin cursed when his attack failed, "Mind to tell me how's this training supposed to help me? 'coz, for your information, not every demon has this ability like you do"

"You're right. In normal occurrence, my speed is far behind you. But by controlling the time, I can slow you down significantly. *clang* Thus to overcome it, you need to just simply move _faster_ which simultaneously trains you to be more _reflexive,_ even if the teacher is lacking in speed than you. It is highly convenient, hm?"

Rin grumbled, then went swinging a half-arc of his faux sword. They exchanged blows and stabs, the half-demon did what he's told to by pushing his muscle to exceed its limits, fully intending on bringing his teacher down even against a powerful but unfair handicap.

"Now that we're talking about time", Rin's eyes flicked briefly to the brightly-colored-crowned trees, "Isn't this a little too early for fall?"

Kaga blinked his moss-colored eyes, "Early? Certainly not. We've gone past three months of summer before reverting to autumn"

"But I've only been here *clang* for about two weeks. And back in the Assiah, it's still spring"

"*chuckle* that's because time is different between here and there *clang*. In Ei no Sumai, time moves faster"

Rin furrowed his eyebrows. Time moves faster? "Why is that?"

"Mephisto-sama made it that way"

Throb. Rin widened his eyes as his steel grip on his boken was unconsciously loosened. The clown-like principal purposefully did that? A clenching feeling assaulted his guts as his earlier memory of doubting the cunning demon's claimed intention rushed through his mind in a myriad of emotions. The autumn mild breeze suddenly felt cold on his skin as a droplet of sweat trickled down his chin.

"Mephisto?", he whispered disbelievingly, "But why would he-

"Nii-san?"

Rin choked on his word, he certainly didn't expect to hear such a familial call on him, which was reserved only for a single person, in this secluded area of vile Gehenna. Impossible... He slowly, almost fearfully, faced the newcomer that accosted him. There stood his little brother, blinking at him with a bewildered expression on his face which he almost had never worn.

"Yu-yukio"

Rin traveled his gaze behind his twin's body and it landed on a smirking figure behind. Rin clamped his jaw as his sapphire eyes bore hatefully to grinning violet ones, "Mephisto..."

Mephisto winked and gave him a peace sign. Then his form poofed out of existence along with puffy pink cloud.

Now only three figures were left in the clearing. Rin had his bangs covering his upper face and eyes, Yukio kept an unfaltering gaze on his brother, and Kaga was nervously staring at both brothers with confused doe-like green eyes.

"U..um", he stuttered out, suddenly feeling out of place in the heavy atmosphere, "I have something I need to at-attend to, please excuse me"

No twin even bothered to pay the retreating demon a glance.

Rin truly didn't know what Yukio was thinking right now as he fidgeted uncomfortably under his little brother's steady stare. His tail swung agitatedly from side to side in hope to somehow wind down his nervousness. He knew that his little brother was not nosy but he wasn't that dense to even attempt feigning innocence right now. After all, he had been avoiding him too much lately.

"Sorry Yukio", Rin murmured, "Are you... mad?"

The emerald eyes continued assessing him with scrutinizing intensity, swirling with an emotion unperceived to Rin. Rin gulped.

Yukio then sighed and closed his eyes, thankfully breaking his intimidating staring, "I'm not angry. But... why?"

Rin's eyes flew away from his twin to gaze at the balding trees, "I'm not strong enough..."

Okumura Yukio was not one to make assumptions, he always disregard misleading information or personal feelings in order to see the ambivalent world objectively. But as a brother of a very unpredictable teen, it wasn't plausible for him to continue ignoring the blatant emotional barrier his brother had, powerfully but desperately, cast up against him. A year was too lengthy already...

"Are you still feeling guilty about that night nii-san?", Rin froze up at that as his boken slid off his tranquilized fingers, "From your reaction, it's true is it not?"

When no reaction was heard, he sighed, "I've forgiven you for that, you of all people should know that. I understand that you're trying to fix that 'mistake' by becoming stronger, but I don't want you to endanger yourself by learning under these unknown demons that Pheles-san claimed to be his 'wards'. He is a good man but is not one to be trusted", Yukio pointed out, his tone was monotone but Rin could faintly detect the concern laced in his brother's voice, "Please stop coming to this place"

Rin bit the inside of his mouth, his restless tail was curled around his shin despite the persistent urging to just lash it out in maddened swings. He debated mentally, mind a turbulent swirl of turmoil, before answering, "I couldn't do that Yukio... I know that I've defied you many times than I can count but I can't give this up. It's not that I want to 'punish' myself, I just want to gain power. Power to protect...", Rin's sapphire eyes locked with Yukio's green ones with uncanny seriousness, rare to be shown from such a normally jovial face, "To protect you from myself..."

That's it. He said it.

Yukio didn't say anything, only keeping an intense gaze on him. Several choking seconds later, his little brother's face softened as he smiled, "Let's go home nii-san. You're tired and drenched with sweat, a bath is definitely in order"

Rin gave back a warm smile. As soon as Yukio broke their eye-contact, Rin's smile faltered as his sapphire eyes dimmed.

To protect you from myself... It was the kind of chivalrous lines that a main character normally says, the kind of shocking but happy revelation spoken in the climax of an ironic story.

So, it should be... believable enough, right?

He truly meant what he said, but that's not the main push. Not his main drive. Not his main aim. Not his ultimate desire.

Shiki snickered, **"Yes, your intention is not that shallow. It's far dirtier and intolerable even in demons' world standard, is it not *Satan no musuko?"**, he purred sultrily in their shared mindscape.

(Translations: Son of Satan)

"..."

Yukio walked in silence, as he leered an eye over his shoulder. He clenched his jaws at the sight of his not normally brooding brother. _He's been like that a lot of times..._

Once again, he was not nosy and he knew Rin preferred him that way.

Although...

_"AAARGH! Please forgive us! Please-_

_The pleading sentence was cut short as the man's face was slammed viciously to the pastel-bricked road. A sickening crack of what most likely to be facial bone rang solemnly._

_Yukio gaped. His savior had beaten half a dozen men twice his size mercilessly, bare-handed. He rammed them brutally with raw strength and vile vengeance, reducing them from proud strong men to bloody-covered stationary heaps on the ground. Their uniforms were no longer pristine as the fabric was painted heavy scarlet._

_"Ni-nii-san..."_

_His silhouette was pronounced from the glare of fiery sunset blaze as he stood impassively among the piles of bodies littering around him. It was frightening. The figure didn't even pant or shook in fatigue, for he was unmoving, despite having exerted such monstrous strength._

_Then when he finally moved, turning his head subtly to glance at him, Yukio had to keep himself from voicing his shock._

_They were there. A sight that he didn't see since a long year ago, the color that often stained his dreams with both fascination and fear._

_A pair of red gleaming eyes._

_"Are you ok Yukio?"_

_His older brother was suddenly kneeling in front of him, staring at him worriedly with his familiar bright-blue eyes. Yukio blinked and nodded dazedly._

_It was gone. But he was sure that it wasn't his imagination. The color was real..._

Yukio clenched both of his fists, his emerald eyes gleaming with uncertainty as they flicked to observe the falling red leaves. They were red, but it was not his brother's red.

_'I'm... worried nii-san...'_

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TBC

Lalala I decided to put up the OC's small profile so you would know him better and hopefully won't forget him~ Don't skip this! *glare*

Kaga Hashiyama

Gender: Male

Race: Quartz demon

Ability: Can control time, slowing the enemies time or increasing self's speed

Weapon: unknown

Physical appearance: Moss colored doe-like eyes. Lilac hair.

Personality: Likes children very much thus the nickname kaa-chan/mother. Friendly and lenient. But very strict when it comes to training.

Stay tuned for the next chappie. I'll try to update faster mate, I know the irritation at waiting a chapter from a slow author because you would most likely forget the storyline from the chapters before... Well, I'll TRY! XD

**Things you might want to think or guess about:**

1. Why did Mephisto make the time go faster in Ei no Sumai?

2. What was Rin's true intention to become stronger other than protecting Yukio from himself?

3. The second appearance of red eyes means...?

Well, that's about it :3

Review!

~Golden Mist Fox


	10. LoveLess 10: Signs of Mishap

Haha I've been really dilligent! Thank you for all the reviews from chapters before and please enjoy this piece of writing~

Warning: Crappy attempt at making a poetry-song (I don't have any poetic blood running in my veins! And my vocabulary is very limited so please don't sue the author!) ^.^"

**LoveLess**  
><strong>Chapter 10: Signs of Mishap<strong>

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The darkness had now ruled over the horizon as hours of lengthy night ticked out slowly. The prickling coldness had driven most people to seek shelter under the safe roof of their homes and the less unfortunate ones hurried their pace on the icy grounds to reach home as fast as possible.

The moon hung its bright illumination on the curtain of the dark, basking its light unto the serene land stretching below it, and also a lone man on the balcony.

He was seated comfortably on a simple wooden chair, perhaps taking comfort at the chance of muddling with only his inner thoughts. One of his fine limbs brought a cup of steaming green tea to his lips as a small stream of the shimmering liquid flowed inside. His makeshift jacket, a colorful blanket which wrapped around him adequately, fluttered its long ends slightly from the gentle tugs of the breeze.

Green eyes locked their wondering gaze to the moon before the teen's lips parted open. The melody came out steady, slow, and careful. His deep voice reverberated nicely to accentuate the lines of his song, as he closed his eyes.

_This humble village serving the finest of vines  
>The ancient willow whispers under the reserved bright empress<br>Look to the hooks, dangling fish in the stock stall  
>Creatures and critters roam the land<br>As free entities among the tranquil dwelling of men  
>Speaking laetitio in the earnest of soul<em>

_There's more than meet the eye round here  
>Enigmatic legend of a dense wood no one dared to unveil<br>The melody of prosperity provides a sense of 'all is right'  
>And out sprouted a creature<br>A being posing as tender as a white dove  
>Yet lies darkest of intention<br>Swallowed in the blanket of the dark_

He finished with a slight drop in the tempo at the end. Setting his cup down, he adjusted the blanket to cover more of his body from the coldness.

"As always, your voice impresses me Yukio. I wonder why you refused my suggestion to join the choir club? You can gain even more fans than you already have now, popular boy"

The younger twin opened his eyes and chuckled, "If I joined the choir", he turned his sitting position so that he faced his conversing companion, "I wouldn't have time to take care of you"

Rin scoffed. He was leaning against the frame of the door leading to the balcony with Kuro sleepily perched on his shoulder. Same as him, the half-demon had a similar blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The twin gifts from their mission.

"You make it sounds as if it's my fault. I don't need someone to take care of me like a baby" His lightly swishing tail swayed out of phase once in account to his defending gesture. His sapphire eyes were half-lidded in an attempt to fight off the cold breeze from lulling him to sleep.

"Hm you're somehow right", Yukio smiled slightly at his twin, "Perhaps I just didn't want to have an extra burden on my day. I am busy enough working as both a student and a teacher"

Rin just stared solemnly at his brother. Yukio loved singing from the bottom of his heart, it was a fact he had discovered from the time they still wore diapers. Since he was little, he had already taken the position of the lead singer in their church's hymn every Sunday. Even his childish high-pitched voice back then had always become the favorite for the people visiting the church. Yukio even won several singing competitions during his younger days and promptly decorated the living room with his numerous certificates and medals. His fondness of this particular line of talent was prominent, Rin could easily tell from the intensity of his emotion pouring out of every tune and how he seemed to glow so brightly when he sing. It's clear how much his brother adored singing, even little Rin was well aware of that. However, he suddenly didn't sing as much as he did before. Even the rate of which he sang on the competition floor decreased little by little. _Until it stopped completely_. And before little Rin knew it, his brother had quitted the choir club at his elementary school. Little Rin had demanded an explanation from his younger brother before but little Yukio just explained that he didn't have the passion anymore. And now he knew what a white lie his brother had been pushed to sprout.

At such a young age, Yukio had been forced to abandon his normal childhood life. To throw away his precious discovering-the-world time and even his utmost passion which brought so wide of a smile to his face. To wield lethal guns in his tiny fingers and face the dangerous darker world never known to other children his age. To become a hero yet still a killer. _To become an exorcist_.

A wave of guilt suddenly struck Rin. He lowered his gaze to the floor, _'Perhaps... It really because of me he did so'_

Rin shook his mind off the depressing thought as he inhaled a deep breath. The pleasant aroma of the night air helped him to soothe the unpleasant churn he had in his stomach.

"Well", Rin dropped his forlorn face and smiled when Yukio acknowledged his voice, "We'd better go inside, it's chilling out here. And it'll be troublesome to take care of your ass if you catch a cold"

Yukio complied as he rose from his seat, bringing the half-empty cup of green tea, "But it certainly be more troublesome if you catch a cold from me. We all know what a whiny brat you are", he retorted. It's still too early for his nii-san to beat him in a fair debate. Any smart remark that his twin managed to pull off will certainly-

"No I won't. A demon wouldn't easily catch a cold"

Yukio halted in his steps, only for the briefest of a second.

_"I'm a demon now so skipping a dinner once won't kill me!"_

Rin stared. The slight pause certainly didn't escape his notice. A tinge of hesitation clouded his sapphire eyes. His hand was inching towards Yukio's bigger one but it paused, and went back to his side.

"Come on", Yukio looked up at Rin when a tail tugged him from around his wrist. He promptly went faster to match the pace his big brother had taken, "It's not like the cold will wait any puny princess moment longer before it infects your immune system", Rin leered above his shoulder and his brother could see the side smirk which was pronounced with one sharp fang. It glowed pearly white from the moon behind them, shrouding his face in a mysterious shadow yet highlighting the particular lethal digit in his muzzle.

Yukio quirked a forced smile.

_Demon... hm?_

...

"Nii-san, like I've told you before, I can't ask Pheles-san to change it no matter how insistent you are. Besides, isn't this too late to change the roles?", Yukio said slowly in exasperation, hoping his brother would finally get it through his thick head.

"We still have two weeks! And you said you'll do it before~", Rin whined, his hand was clenched on the hem of Yukio's upper pajama.

The twins were sitting on Yukio's bed, one of them was trying all his might for his plea to be granted, while the other was struggling between getting angry or to keep up his cool demeanor.

Yukio just shrugged, he couldn't deny that one, "I reckon Pheles-san gave you the hardest one because you accidentally exposed the cram class in the first place"

Rin blushed, "Hey! You're supposed to wake me up that day! It's not my fault that I forgot to close the door!"

"Nonsense. I wasn't at home that particular day because of a mission. But most of all you don't need me to be there to wake you up all the time. You're practically an adult already"

The elder teen pouted. He still couldn't accept the idea that he got to do the silliest and most uncool part for the class drama, "I have to play the role of some monster dog while you get to be the captain of the pirates. It's so unfair", Rin mumbled.

Yukio laughed, "Well, I'd rather to not participate at all in the drama. And I'm sure you can pose as a wolf better than any of us"

_'That's not the issue! Why does everyone keep feeding me with that bullshit!'_, Rin wanted to scream and pull out his hair but resolved to just let it out by an angry whip of his tail. No matter how well someone could perform the role, it will still humiliate the person! And Rin wasn't content on the idea of making fun of himself in front of all the students. The thought of the first page in True Cross news composed by the nosy newspaper club picturing him growling like a dog promptly triggered his puking system.

Rin lightly growled and decided to change tactic. He wasn't that thick to accept the fact that he had never won a verbal argument with Yukio before anyway. Then a smile started to creep at the corner part of his lips. _A mischievous one_.

"Oooh~ then I think I ought to start practicing the essence of being a wolf eh?"

Yukio frowned, his twin had given up? That was too fast for comfort, "Um yeah, I suppose... By embodying a canine way of thinking, I'm sure you'll manage to grasp the feeling of it quite easi- oomph!"

The remaining words were cut short as the brunette found his back collided with the bed quite roughly. Yukio stared up quizzically to his brother. Then felt the hair on the back of his neck raised up when he saw the look his brother had as he hovered over him in the manner of an animal-like grace. Yukio gulped.

Yep, definitely too fast for comfort.

The smirking teen had pinned the larger male down as he straddled his twin's hips.

"I can pretend to be a wolf", Rin purred sultrily as he smirked down to his frozen brother. His sapphire orbs adopted a predatory glint on both of the blue twinkling depths, "Might as well start now~", he breathed near Yukio's sensitive ear. The younger one involuntarily shuddered from the husky and painfully lewd tone.

Before Yukio could comprehend what's happening, Rin had effortlessly flipped his little brother so that his back was facing him. He swiftly drew up Yukio's shirt, observing the smooth skin momentarily before leaning down. He sniffed the skin in a dog-like manner then opened his jaws... and chomped down.

Yukio yelped at the unexpected contact as his back arched in pain. Rin soothed the sting by lapping his tongue over the light red mark.

"Nii-san!", Yukio reprimanded before he yelped again when a second bite invaded his pain sensory. Finally getting a hold of the situation he was in, the brunette tried to struggle free and succeeded in rolling to his side. But Rin didn't miss a beat as he leaned down and attacked the area below his ribcage that was newly exposed.

"Ouch! Stop that! Get off of me this instant! Agh!", Yukio yelled, as well trying to fend off the barrage of bites Rin was continuously marking his body with. His glasses were slipping off the bridge of his nose from all the furious defensive movements he made.

"What's wrong Yukio? I am merely practicing wolves' way of playing~", Rin finished his sentence with a light growl before dipping his tongue into Yukio's belly button.

Yukio jerked, as a blush crept to his face. That particular action, which he was sure his idiotic brother unintentionally did, had brought a rather interesting feeling around his south area. Rin had gone too far in his silly revenge game.

"Enough! Let go! Ugh! Rin!", Yukio grimaced when Rin pinned his wrists sideways with his hand. The other hand lifted up the glasses off his brother's eyes and then worked on lifting his pajama to reveal more of the porcelain-white skin. A peculiar excitement suddenly surged through his entire body the moment his brother blinked up repetitively to him with those wide beautiful green eyes. Without his spectacles and in this vulnerable position, unlike the authoritive aura he always radiated on normal occasions, he really looked like a helpless deer staring up fearfully with its doe-watery eyes to the menacing big bad wolf that was about to devour it...

Rin continued his little attacks with a mischievous smile plastered on his face. He practically rained down light bites and licks to every area of which he could reach, never on the same place twice though.

"Alright I get it nii-san! *bite*ugh! yes your part is a bit dif- *bite*ouch! -ficult to be played but- *bite*agh! -ok ok I admit that it's extremely difficult to- *bite* stop it! What exactly do you want me to say nii-san?!"

"Woof woof *growl* woof wooooooof~"

"Don't answer me with bar- *bite* -dammit!"

Rin was enjoying this very _much_, the evidence was clear from how his eyes lit up every time he left a bite. He certainly loved the feeling that his intelligent younger brother was practically defenseless against him when it came to physical strength. Yukio still couldn't escape his pinning trap even though he didn't even use his full strength.

Yukio's struggle had gone weaker and weaker as no matter how hard he pushed, Rin still wouldn't budge. At last he remained limp, huffing heavily while his cheeks flushed red with both embarrassment and mild pain. He, as he tried hard to calm his hormones down, couldn't deny that he was highly stimulated from the ministrations and was dangerously bordering to the brink of aroused state.

Having marked the lower area, Rin moved on to the upper part. Yukio was leaning his head to the left with his arm covering his eyes and his body shuddering with vulnerable submissive little tremors. With the way Yukio tilted his head, he got a nice view of his brother's porcelain-white neck. A deep red shade flushed over the pale milky skin... and beads of glistening sweat soaked the creases of the heavenly length. _So smooth..._ he subconsciously wondered how it tasted like as he leaned closer.

_You know Yukio... when you turn your head sideways and your neck... and its prominent creases are visible for me to see..._

_Sometimes... Just slightly..._

_I feel like... no I want to just... sink my fangs into the soft flesh... until the skin tears and draws blood..._

_... to claim you as MI-_

_Throb._

Rin swiftly withdrew his head and got off his brother with urgency. He backed away in hurried steps until his back banged on the wall, his body was huffing in horror and his eyes wide and disbelieving. Just where the hell did those thoughts come from?

"So-sorry Yukio! I-I do-don't mean to u-uh-uuh", Rin attempted to reason but gave up when his mind failed to provide him any logical excuses. He then busied himself in his closet rummaging through its content then pulled out a wrinkled checkered shirt. His tail wrapped around his torso as he momentuously swung the blue clothing around his shoulders.

Yukio, still a little dazed, could faintly see the blurry image of his panicked-stricken brother. He cursed his current insubstantial visual ability and squinted his eyes, "Whe-where are you going?"

"I will go cool my mind off and repent my sins! You go sleep first, it's late!", he said hurriedly while practically flying to all over the room to retrieve another pieces of clothing.

"At this hour?!"

"Be a good boy alright?", he said before turning off all the lights and disappeared as the door closed.

Leaving a half-naked Yukio blinking stupidly to try to process whatever was going on. Then his gaze hardened in barely-suppressed fury, "Riiiiiin! Get the hell back here!"

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With all the curtains drawn cancelling any light from outside, the ceiling was flashed with reflections of bright light which alternated colors every now and then. There was no conversing sound, only the classic game tune ringing from the giant metallic pink screen in the spacious lounging room.

A figure topped with white tall head was busy in his own world, his fingers, dancing on the various buttons, were wrapped around a remote controller.

A quiet knock announced the arrival of an unknown person.

Mephisto, without even turning his head, replied a 'come in'.

The door opened, letting a couple ray of light in to penetrate the near darkness. The extra occupant pressed the door shut and greeted the old demon gruffly, "Hey you clown, there's something I want to discuss with you"

Mephisto clicked the pause button as he turned his head towards the woman that intruded his late game session. He smirked subtly, "Oooh what a pleasant surprise~ How kind of you to pay me a visit at such a late hour. So…", he pointed his purple eyes at the pink-haired figure who was staring at him grimly, "what could be this important that you want to discuss with me, Shura-sensei?"

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Their shared bedroom's door was pushed open soundlessly and a blue eye peeked in. He stayed still for a few ticking seconds, an eye on full-radar to detect the slightest movements. Even in the darkness, he could recognize the motionless lump on the bed to be his sleeping little brother. As silent as a mouse, he slipped inside and closed the door.

His breath hitched when the door made quite a loud noise and blue eyes widened in trepidation.

But other than a grunt coming from the slightly moving pile of body, there wasn't any sign of his brother's waking up.

_'Huh?'_, Rin raised an eyebrow, _'He is usually a light sleeper, must be my lucky day'_

"Rin?"

His heart nearly leaped out of his ribcage at the thought of being busted, but then he realized that it's only Kuro. The black cat which nearly killed his own owner with shock stared at him from the floor with his wide curious eyes. Rin hastily put a forefinger in front of his lips in panicked urgency.

The catsith merely tilted his head in wonder when his master tiptoed in a very uncool manner towards his slumbering twin.

"You're being silly Rin. I think Yukio doesn't want to play because he is sleeping", Kuro smartly pointed out.

Rin quickly 'sssh'ed the cat, adding a growl in an attempt to intimidate Kuro to quit making any noise, "I don't want to play!", he hissed out.

Kuro blinked his abnormally wide eyes then yawned widely. If his master wasn't going to play, then there's no need to remain here any longer, he's sleepy anyway. With a single graceful leap, he was out of the room.

Now there were only Rin and Yukio in the room. Rin approached the bed silently. His baby brother was sleeping in a very relaxed manner, his normally tight and stern face was replaced with a loose expression, hell even his mouth hung open a little. A strip of moonlight that entered from the glass windown illuminated his face in a beautiful glow.

Rin smiled, but his smile was tight. Then he sat at the side of Yukio's bed, his eyes never strayed from admiring the tranquil-looking face. _It's like his brother could only completely rest when he's asleep like this_. He just relished on the sight of the slow rise-and-fall of his twin's chest, watching his sleeping twin with half-lidded eyes.

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"I think ya know why I bother coming to yer place", Shura stated in a very low tone, her face was devoid of any emotion.

Mephisto continued his game as he nonchalantly answered in a sing-song voice, "Hm? Pray tell..."

Shura narrowed her eyes eventhough she knew Mephisto couldn't see her from here. She then continued, "I've stumbled upon a very intriguing piece of information from a magazine about the lunar event of the year. A certain red moon to be precise"

Mephisto answered without missing a beat, "Why yes! You do know that Loveless night occurs annually on the very first day of summer, don't you?"

The woman's face hardened as she slammed a couple of print-outs at the table, causing the poor vase on it to fall off. The sound of shattering glass rang in the air before the woman spoke out, "Don't play dumb! Ya might be able to hide last year's event of the kid practically tried to _jump_ any walking person for him to fuck to _death_ from the Vatican but the moon this year isn't the freaking usual one! It's the _Grand_ one, pink-butt freak, which I happened to find out occuring only once every a _hundred_ years and heightens demons' libido multiple times than _freaking normal_!", she hissed out in barely-contained patience, her hands were clenching and unclenching in fury, "Ya know that old cow!"

Mephisto finally stopped his game and turned his body to face his underling. His slanted eyes remained blank as he paid Shura his undivided attention. Normal people ought to flinch at being stared at with those kind of void-like expression but Shura stood her ground. At last the demon smirked and answered confidently, "Yes I do know that. Are you perhaps worried about Rin?"

"Hell yeah I do!", she screamed out without hesitation, "If only a red-ringed moon could affect him that far, can ya imagine what he might pull off in a freaking full-red one? He probably will wipe out the whole Eve's populations in the fucking country!"

Mephisto shook his head, "You know, as his teacher you should believe in him more" He eyed the woman with his trademark fearless and condescending look.

Rin reached out a hand, his fingers unfolding, but hesitated as he retracted the fine limb back. But then he ignored his screaming conscience and settled a palm on his sleeping's brother head. Yukio only whined low before becoming still once more.

Rin allowed a smile to flutter on his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes, "You know Yukio", he whispered, "You used to be that girly four-eyes who always ran crying to me with snots running down your nose. I would protect you as usual as your big brother. Now you have outshined me, your grades, your looks, your fans, your everything. I really admire you like that, and I'm proud to be called a brother to you. But lately...

Shura sighed grimly as she closed her eyes, "I don't know if I can believe him anymore. He is a great kid, but he often lets his emotions control him... His reputation as the son of Satan clearly won't suit that side of him. He might get into a trouble in the near future because of it"

Mephisto smirked, his eyes shone like he withheld a lot more than he actually showed and that piece of information really irked the pink-haired woman. He shrugged in a mock nonchalant manner, "Who knows? Only time will tell..."

"But lately...", his bangs covered the upper part of his face and his hand which cradled his brother's head shook, "I've got this thought, this thought that always haunt me whenever I see you or thinking about you" He had tried to erase it away, but the more he tried to be away from his brother, the more he felt thirsty to his brother's presence and touch. Without him being able to stop it, he continuously seeked every chance to get closer to his twin, _to feel his warmth more_... "Don't give me that smile... don't give me that kind of expression... don't give me _hope_..."

A lone droplet of warm water dropped down on the pale cheek of Yukio.

"Why did we have to be born... _as brothers?_"

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TBC

*sigh* that was long, I hope you enjoy it readers! Oooh and don't forget to review! Please review! Tell me what you feel about this development! "Nyahahaha I like to see a depressed and crying Rin!" *is chased down by a mob of angry Rin's fans* And perhaps can you suggest the name for the red moon? I'm having trouble to think of one and only come up with stupid childish names *evidence: the stupid author name stated above and below*

Oh and about Rin teasing Yukio from above? I just like fluffiness, that's all... do you? *wink*

A singing Yukio? *smirk* I think he will be kind of sexy if he actually sings!

REVIEW!

~Golden Mist Fox


	11. LoveLess 11: In the Span of Time

Sorry for the extremely late update, I was so busy during January with yada yada etc etc =.= too much things to do! Seriously! In fact I just started composing the chap 3 days ago :/

Yukio centric! I don't exactly know what centric means but I hope it means it's focused on Yukio. Well, I feel bad for neglecting him actually. Sorry Yukio! :(

WARNING: There are **6(SIX!)** separate stories and massive **time jumps** written in this chap so please pay attention to details! Otherwise you'll be confused! And there's one story here which is taken from chap 2&3 that is Yukio's explanation to Shura and Rin on what happened to him during Loveless Night when he was 6 years old. I suggest you go back reread it a little bit if you forget:)

Enjoy~

* * *

><p>He exhaled, two weary fingers pinched the bridge of his nose slowly- leaving a residual spot of reddish mar on his pale skin.<p>

One young exorcist found his scrunched-up emerald eyes to continuously stare at his reflection on the bathroom mirror, shirtless and dripping with post-shower droplets, raking over his figure with eagle-like observation again, and again, and again.

_And again._

No he was not a narcissist with nothing better to do than admiring a half-naked reflection of himself for half-an-hour, nor was he a voyeur that loved to poke and play around with his body.

Yukio was just trying to convince himself that the sight of his full-of-reddish-purple spots on his body was not fate's joke of playing a so-not-funny prank on him.

And when you thought of Yukio, you wouldn't forget a distinct feature about him, that was his three dots of facial mark.

So the atrociousness of the state he was in (which inconveniently made him looked like that he was just raped by a savage beast) was even fueled up by the fact that the darkening hickeys weren't the only unwanted blotches of spots that littered all over his body. There were still his f***ing MOLES. His numerous, condemned, abhorrent, malicious, freaking MOLES. It looked as if someone had just dipped a brush in a mixture of red, blue, purple, and black paint then randomly splattered a generous amount of them on his upper half body.

Thankfully, none went near his neck so hiding the rest beneath the designated uniform would be a piece of cake.

_But still..._

Yukio's brow twitched.

_Today he would have swimming on his third period._

"Nii-san...", he muttered darkly, his upper half of face was shrouded with ominous shadow that chanted death upon any poor being that gazed at him. His homicidal eye peered murderously over his shoulder, "Just watch, I'll make sure you'll definitely pay FOR THIS!"

Nevertheless, Rin was gone from his brother's wrathful sight during the whole day. He must have been terribly afraid of what Yukio had in his sleeve for his vengeance, look, he even woke up early!

.

.

.

**LoveLess**

**Chapter 11: In the Span of Time**

* * *

><p><em>I'll find repose in new ways<em>

_Though I haven't slept in two days_

_'Cause cold nostalgia_

_Chills me to the bone_

_But drenched in vanilla twilight_

_I'll sit on the front porch all night_

_Waist-deep in thought because_

_When I think of you I don't feel so alone_

OwlCity- Vanila Twilight

.

Fujimoto Shiro laughed at his youngest child's remark. The small child was snugly seated in his father's lap, a thin full-colored story book was opened in his own lap.

"The cowman doesn't wear his clothes wrongly", Shiro amusedly tried to point out, "he just likes to wear his red underwear over his tight blue pants. And no, you can't wear your clothes like that!"

Yukio cutely blinked his wide eyes before he excitedly bounced on his buttocks, and repeatedly slammed his tiny hands on the page.

The father laughed, knowing what the little kid wanted he continued, "The cowman and the princess he saved then lived happily ever after. The end"

Yukio hummed happily, completely satisfied at the awesome story, as his eyes diligently absorbed every detail of the large picture on the last page. It featured a clad-superhero-like humanoid cow flying towards the sunset with the princess in his arms. He blinked when he found a particularly weird scribbling depicted over the couple.

"Otou-san", he craned his neck to stare at his father's face, "what's this?", a tiny finger pointed at the weird caligraphy-like word.

Shiro observed the word briefly, "Oh, that's an old Chinese calligraphy, ai, meaning love"

"You see Yukio", Shiro swiveled his finger around the square character, "Inside this square, there are three dots which represent the deeper meaning of love. The first one, is a drop of tear. This means love is soooo deep that it sometimes causes you pain. The second one, is a drop of sweat, which says that to love, there are certain contributions you must made on someone you love's behalf. And the last one", he pointed at the last dot, "is the drop of blood. The one where you might sacrifice your own body in order to protect the one you love"

Then Shiro turned to the boy, "Do you understand Yukio?"

Yukio stared at his father for several silent seconds before smiling cheekily, flashing the sight of his recently-grown four milk-teeth.

"No!"

Shiro sighed as he released his hold on the child, Yukio eagerly jumped out and ran to play with his giant bouncy ball.

"Well", Shiro leaned back and watched his energetic kid played around with his ball, a smile was seated leisurely in his lips, "You'll find out what love is eventually... in your own _long_ life"

.

Thunders roared malevolently and cruel lightning perpetually struck past the tall stained-glass windows, generating fleeting flashes on the high-ceiling room with facets of various colors. It was approaching midnight, yet the storm hadn't receded in the slightest bit, violent winds consistently swang the majestic trees back and forth like flimsy branches.

Three men were in the bedroom, one lying down, one sitting, and one standing up.

"It's no good head priest", a plump man with swollen cheeks began grimly, holding the thermometer in a way that was visible to the man behind him. He flipped the wash cloth covering the forehead of a sleeping teen, with deeply flushed skin and a sheen of sweat covering his neck, "His fever isn't going down. At this rate, he could seriously..."

Shiro, from his standing position, stared down anxiously at the ill teen. Silence hang like a dead-weight in the room.

"I'll go change the water", the man gathered the gradually cooling water bucket in his arms. Paying one last glance at the distraught father, he quietly left the room.

The Paladin was truly at lost. There, his precious child was laying helplessly, plagued with an intense fever and yet he could do nothing. Medication was limited in the grandiose church and a hospital-admission was not an option in this kind of weather. Now he regretted brushing off Yukio's slight languid condition before coming to this secluded ancient-Renaissance church high up the mountain.

_Nothing could be done now..._

The door opened briefly before quietly closing again.

"*Oyaji", a placid voice whispered. Rin strode over soundlessly and stood next to his father, worried eyes directed intently at the form of his still brother, "How is he?"  
>*a rude way to address a father<p>

Shiro shook his head, "It's not good, his temperature is escalating at an alarming rate and we don't have any strong medicine to bring it down"

Rin's face darkened in deep contemplation, eyes still trained on his twin before it adopted a glint of finality, "He needs medicine right? Then I'll go down the mountain to fetch some in the pharmacy store, I saw one at the foot of this mountain"

Shiro turned disapproving eyes towards Rin in alarm, as he hissed out angrily, "Absolutely not! Not in this kind of weather! We have to wait for the storm to subside first otherwise it'll be suicide!"

Rin didn't show any sign of fear at being the receiving end of his father's rare furious eyes, "I'll be fine, you worry too much old fart. Besides it's Yukio, I can't just sit around and do nuthin' "

"Now listen to me Rin", Shiro pumped as much of threatening tone he could to his voice, "In this kind of storm no one in their right mind would even step outside. It's too dangerous! You can be swiped off your footing from the harsh wind alone and large trees could be falling down plus the soil is mushy and extremely slippery!"

Rin stared blankly at his father, "Thanks for laying out the impressive details Oyaji, but I'm still going. You can't stop me", he turned to leave.

Suddenly a cold hand seized his own and tugged on the limb limply.

Yukio caught his brother's gaze with half-lidded worn-out eyes and rasped out, "Do-don't go nii-san. It's da-dangerous", he gripped his twin's hand tighter.

Rin merely smiled softly and leaned down to peck a kiss on his twin's burning forehead, "Don't worry Yukio", he soothingly spoke out, "You should just get some sleep. Let your onii-san take care of the rest 'kay?"

Yukio weakly tried to keep his twin's hand in place but Rin easily slipped out of his jelly-like grip.

Quiet steps were heard and gradually receded down. The sound of the raging storm became louder for a little while before it died down along the closing click of the front door.

Leaving one worry-stricken father helplessly slumped down on a chair, and a green-eyed teen lying motionlessly in the bed.

Yukio felt pain he had never felt before clenching deep in his torso.

_'Nii-san...'_

.

"Argh, the bastard's too strong! Just forget it guys let's scram!", a mean-looking boy screamed out to his underlings.

The bullies didn't waste any second and in a flash had fled from the scene. They were no fools, they knew from the injuries being mercilessly inflicted on them that the kid was... simply speaking, bad news.

An eight-year-old Yukio was on his butt, trembling uncontrollably with free tears and snots running down his face. It was another session of his constant bullying from the two-years-older delinquents who fancied teasing him and his weak body.

But this time... A boy turned towards him with concerned blue eyes... His nii-san had jumped to the rescue and chased them all away.

"You okay?", Rin knelt in front of him then studied his brother meticulously.

Yukio rubbed his eyes and nodded timidly, "Uu-uuum", dutifully keeping his head down. He didn't want to look up, he didn't dare to. He had just shown the most shameful side of him to his twin, and... his eyes caught sight on several bloody scratches Rin supported... he even took some serious beating because of him!

"Hey look at me"

Yukio flinched but adamantly shook his head.

He could hear his brother sighed then sat down, "Ne, if ya don't look up, I can't see if yer find or not", warm hands cupped his wet cheeks and softly but persistently lifted his head up.

Yukio's eyes came in contact with Rin's. The child was positive that Rin would give him the evil eye, he totally deserved it, but surprisingly saw none of that. Only pure concern and care.

Rin's hand carefully clenched on Yukio's fallen spectacles, a clean crack marred one of the lens. Yukio didn't know why but when Rin studied his broken glasses, it looked as if it was Rin himself that was broken.

"Yukio", his brother whispered softly and then embraced him in a choking hug. Yukio's eyes involuntarily widened in astonishment, truly not expecting the sudden intimate gesture.

"Ni-nii-san?"

"..orry"

"W-what?"

"I'm sorry... yer glasses are broken.. I-I couldn't come to ya in time.."

Yukio awkwardly wrapped his arms around his elder brother, "Wh-what are you saying nii-san? I should be the one to blame for making you get beaten up so badly..."

"Still!", Rin's face was suddenly in front of his face, shockingly with tears leaking down the sapphire orbs. He hiccuped, "It-it hurts!", he took Yukio's hand and placed it on his beating chest, "Not my wounds.. here"

Yukio blinked before his eyes softened. It was supposedly too vague to be comprehended by his child's mind, but he somehow understood. He just could tell its meaning based on what fluttering feeling that washed over him when hearing those honest genuine words.

_"The first drop, the drop of tear. Sometimes, love hurts so much until it is unbearable and you feel like shedding tears... for no apparent reason"_

.

_Tap.. Tap.. Tap.._

Faint steps echoed in the near quietness of the deserted area, a narrow alleyway packed with small oldies stores which were mostly closed. The teen's pace was calm but slightly out of tune due to the barely noticeable wobbling in his gait.

Yukio adjusted his slipping black bag by straightening his limp shoulder, cold green eyes nonchalantly set to his front in contrast to his clear mind and aching but still active muscle.

Today's training had been hard, Shiro, his adoptive father, had drilled a new method of shooting barrage which involved him propelling thousands of precise bullets to sophisticated moving targets all day long. Now his whole body was sore and his eyes were literally ready to shut down.

It didn't take a professional's eyes to correctly deduce that Yukio was a natural. Within several short years of thorough training, his skills had far surpassed many novice shooters and his intelligent person made him an even more irreplaceable asset in the exorcism world. He put his goal in front of him and placed his own self behind it. His priority was strictly replaced and he accepted that whole-heartedly. But now in his denatured state, his mind found a crevice through his stern conviction and a certain brewing thought leaked passed the barrier.

_Why am I even doing all of this?_

Yukio clenched his jaws. _No..._ He had sworn to never back down on or even question his resolve. The one he made seven years ago when he accepted those pair of guns.

_Clink._

"Welcome to The Potiphar Diner!"

The weary exorcist offered a half-smile to the proprietor as he welcomed himself inside the tiny restaurant.

This secluded dining house didn't look much on the inside, as well as the outside. People would simply glide their eyes over it, never thinking of checking the dull restaurant out. Yet, he was too hungry to care... And no one should recognize him here.

Being tired resulted in him not wanting to indulge himself in frolic chatting, the one where you had to smile and pretend laughing a lot. Yukio inwardly gave a bemused scoff. At this rate, he would become a loner for sure.

As he scanned the menu, he was slightly surprised to see a peculiar dish which particularly interested him greatly. _Mighty Pony Rainbow_. Its choice of name was simply speaking unspeakable and beyond childish yet deep inside he felt a queer yearning to...

"Excuse me"

The waitress readily sauntered over to him, waiting for his order.

"I'll have this one please"

The girl raised a brief eyebrow before smiling amusedly, "None have ever asked for that before actually, perhaps because of the ludicrous name. But it's very delicious!", the waitress gave two appreciative thumbs-up, "You've got a good eye, sir"

Yukio's lips quirked into a subtle smile, saying nothing more as the girl reread his order then left.

.

Oh merciful God…", Shiro dejectedly mumbled as he dutifully replaced the washcloth, "please…", he put his forehead on his twined fingers in a display of a thoroughly taxed mind, "… let Rin be safe"

It had been three hours since Rin left, and yet there was no sign of him coming back. The priests were only slightly worried but Shiro looked as if he was ready to pass out in any second. To make matters worse, the storm hadn't even subsided its raging wrath.

Yukio couldn't fall asleep. His eyelids felt heavy, but everytime he gave in, an image of his brother flashed passed his mind. He truly was worried sick, Rin was out there alone for his sake without any means of calling for help should he run into trouble. Completely at the mercy of the cynical nature. His mind started brewing plenty of bad 'what ifs' and they were getting worse and worse in each passing second.

_'Rin where are you?'_, he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched on his blanket's end, _'I'm scared...'_

How he wanted to curse himself for not attempting harder to prevent his brother from pulling off these kinds of risky missions. He wouldn't forgive himself if... if... something happened...

_'No!'_, he mentally shook off the thought, _'he will be safe! He's Rin after all'_

Just as the clock striked two in the morning, excited chatters were heard before the sound of multiple steps drew closer to the room. Then it was slammed open.

"Oyaji!", the voice was cheerful but it was accompanied with rushed pants. Rin grinned cheekily as he pulled down his dripping hood and held up a black plastic bag to the stunned duo, "I got it!"

Yukio pulled himself up a little as he stared at his brother with wide eyes. Rin came nearer to bed and handed over the medicine to Shiro. To say that his brother was wet was an understatement. He was absolutely drenched from head to toe, even the raincoat didn't do much good to cover up everything. The proof? His thoroughly soaked hair and face as if someone had just dumped a bucket of water on him. The insides of his clothing certainly wouldn't be different.

A new pain grew in his chest, but it wasn't the same as before.

"Nii-san..."

Rin, who was busy preparing the medicine, then riveted his attention towards his twin, "Hm?"

"A-", a drop of tear fell from his eyes, "Arigato... nii-san"

Rin's eyes softened for a while before he smirked teasingly, "What's this? Are ya crying four eyes?"

Yukio furiously rubbed his arm over his eyes, "N-no! This is from the fever!"

The occupants of the room all laughed amusedly as they cooed at how cute Yukio was when he was crying.

_"The second drop, the drop of sweat. Sometimes love prompts you to do certain exhausting contributions you must made for your beloved's behalf"_

.

The demon roared before swiping its enlarged tail on the dirt ground, sweeping the pests it considered the exorcists as off their footing. The impact caught both brothers off guard and they whirled airborne beyond the cliff, and down to the valley below.

Their fellow exorcists' panicked screams became quickly inaudible, swallowed by gales of galloping wind gushing at the brothers.

He considered himself to be a professional, Yukio did, his sense of self-pride clearly surpassed that of normal teenagers. But now- emerald eyes widened in newly-accumulating-terror, absorbing the frightening bare landscape closing in on him and the harsh whips of chilling air rushing past him in cruel flashes of reality. He felt like he had reverted back to the scaredy-cat spectacled kid he was before. Small. Insignificant. Fragile._ Mortal..._

"Yukio!"

The owner of the name jolted, and craned his neck with great difficulty to face the source of the voice, of course, the most familiar for him.

Gazes were locked across the vertical harsh wind, blazing blue clashed with fearful green. The eyes of his brother were unwavering, during the midst of their dying descend, the pair of clear blue orbs searched and sparked in him in intense turmoil of connecting emotions.

Rin's body was surrounded with his lethal and scorching blue fire, its scope was steadily growing to a frightening size as it swirled around him, literally forming a giant ball of hell fire. His brother's jagged pupil were still trained on him as Rin stretched his hands outwards in a clear invitation of an embrace.

He mouthed out,

"Do you trust me?"

The spectacled seven-year-old boy blinked from his high perch above, tears pouring out from his doe-like eyes, blurring the image of his older brother down there.

"W-what?"

"I say jump down", Rin stretched his hands upwards, patiently watching his brother trembling like he was having a seizure attack from the third-floor little window, "Don't worry I'll catch you"

Yukio gulped as he looked down. The floor he was in was at least 12 good feet away to the ground, and the trees were too far away to be reached by his meager jumping ability. _Throb_. Spasms of cold adrenaline continuously assaulted the poor kid, steadily sapping away at both his physical body and his logical deduction ability.

_'I couldn't do it… There's no way I could… if I jump I surely would die!'_

_Die…_ he backed away on trembling legs from the edge of the window sill. Every horrible scenario seeped and invaded his whirling mind, clouding it with fearsome delusions which clamped his chest in tight unyielding binds.

_Jump!_

_I'll die!_

_You have to!_

_I'm scared!_

"Yukio!", Rin yelled in a strained voice, as to avoid being heard by unwanted parties, promptly gaining his brother's attention. He looked hard in his twin's green eyes and spoke harshly, "You have to jump! If not Oyaji will be beaten to a pulp by those thugs!"

"B-but", his tears accumulated even more, "I'm scared!"

Rin sighed, "Don't worry, I've told you I'll catch you", he then opened his arms wide, "Do you trust me?"

If one was speaking about trusting someone, every person ought to have at least one. The degree of trust could be limited only in the extent of commercial partnerships or between friends in simple gossip matter of not letting the cat out of the bag. Or, in an extreme case, entrusting one's life entirely to a certain person. In this case, a demon. This line of thinking was actually far from a prejudice, merely a logical reasoning any person would come to in order to stay living.

Time was slipping and in his descent, he managed to formulate an instinctual conclusion from bits he subsconciously gathered from years of experiences. The sinister blue fire unnerved his natural defence system greatly, but the person controlling it was warmer and more reliable than anyone else. Demonic blue eyes, although seemed baleful to most people, yet he couldn't feel afraid of them.

"Do you trust me?"

_Yes, how could I not?_

_"I dive into the swirling ball of fire hell, its sparks quickly licking and wrapping around the whole of my body. When my perceptive analysis insistently screams that it is unthinkable and downright moronic, I only feel warmth. Warmth that is as soothing as the subtle rays of sunrise, and as safe as a mother's loving arms. It is a necessity, my subsistence, and I realize that from the very beginning, I long for it"_

.

Yukio?"

Yukio stopped his fingers from idly twirling the chopsticks and glanced up. And widened his eyes so when he did.

The one apron-wearing waiter that delivered his food was none other than his brother. Rin's blue eyes widened at him, also in disbelief, good thing he didn't lose hold of the tray he had in his hands.

The spectacled-teen gaped, "You... work here?"

"Uuum", Rin riveted his eyes away from his brother's questioning ones before placing the tray timidly on the table, "Y-yeah. Actually it was since a week ago"

"Oooh... I see"

"Yo-you're not mad?"

"Why would I be?", Yukio smiled in amusement and gestured a hand towards a lone vacant chair in his table, "Please sit down nii-san"

Rin brightened up at that as he eagerly took a seat in front of his twin.

"So you work here huh? That explains why a restaurant would give such an atrocious name for its dish", the younger twin teased smoothly while impaling a piece of sliced mushroom with his fork.

Rin blushed, "Hey! Not my fault I suck at inventing pretty names for food! And the most important thing is not the naming but the flavor, it's eeevery cook's art!"

Yukio laughed, "Quite logical, at the very least for you. ("Hey!") But of course, your cooking is...", he brought the dark-stained mushroom to his mouth and chewed on it tentatively, "... second to none"

And so the unexpected meeting between brothers turned to a warm-hearted chat spiced with inoffensive teasing remarks. The topics were quite random and varied, pretty much every sector of a teenager's life they managed to cover up. Yukio was quite surprised. At home, they rarely talked or even saw each other due to their own hectic schedule, if not for having the same home, they might as well considered each other to be a stranger.

Yet at the most unseemly place, they managed to connect as brothers.

Yukio raised an eyebrow at seeing his brother scrutinizing him with such a serious expression "Is something the matter nii-san?"

Rin hmm-ed and rubbed his chin in contemplation, "You look tired", he pointed out.

"I do?"

"Yeah", the elder twin confirmed as he brushed a lock of his brother's hair off his eyes, "And not only physically, but mentally"

_Throb._

"I'm only tired, there's no need to worry nii-san"

"A lie. You might be able to fool other people with that indifference, but not me"

Rin's eyes were drilling heavily into him, effortlessly stripping him off of every of his mental barrier he had built to ward people's off from his true feelings. Now it was all crumbling into nothingness.

Yukio emerald eyes, which were usually so full of confidence and impenetrable defence, slowly swiveled with a tint of vulnerability.

Rin softened his eyes and spoke in a soothing tone, "Tell me"

Yukio pursed his lips and Rin squeezed his hand lightly as a form of reassurance.

"Nii-san", he hated how he sounded now, so weak and so pitiful, but he had no power to shake away his brother's gaze. He had always not been able to, "I-I-I have this one purpose, the one I've sworn to keep fighting for and the one I believe to have been the right choice for me. But... now when I've continuously faced a lot of serious obstacles in the road, I feel extremely tired. There's this deep hole in my heart, and it's constantly aching. There are screams in my mind to just stop and abandon everything... but... but I don't want to, but I also want to. It-it's so confusing a-a-and I no longer know what to do..."

_Help me._

Rin continued to stare at his brother a little while before chuckling, "People say that someone who doesn't have a definite goal is a future trash, a dirt on a superior someone's shoe. Like me. But Yukio, I can see that you've already passed that point of uncertainty and is progressing steadily towards the completion of that goal. You've contributed more than common people for that, time, wil, heart, mind, sweat, " Rin traced a musing thumb on the dish plate, a small smile situated in his lips, "...and love"

"You've always become a pillar of strength Yukio and dare I say, I've known no one stronger than you", Rin reached out a hand and cradled the side of his twin's head lovingly, "and this single purpose you have, if it's truly important to you, I believe you'll find a way. To protect both it and you", Rin's face broke into a bright grin.

Yukio stared at his brother before his gaze softened, "Yes it is...", he covered his twin's hand, squeezing it softly, as he closed his eyes,"...nothing's more important for me"

_Nothing's more important for me than..._

.

The teen slowly returned to the land of consciousness, blinking his bleary eyes rapidly and trying to will away the dark spots hindering his vision. His head was swimming but fortunately it steadily dimmed down to a bearable level.

Yukio's vision was finally coming into focus as he groaned when a particular throb wrecked his thumping head. A sudden sensation of falling assaulted his gut as he jerked to be fully-awake, wide stunned eyes blinked repetitively.

_'A-am I dead?'_ Not likely. A quick scan of his surrounding he concluded that he was somehow laying on a barren surrounding, the exact view he saw down there when he was falling freely

Now that he successfully registered within the real world, he could feel that he was laying on a warm something. He looked down in question, and a terrible feeling of horror seized his heart painfully.

_Rin..._ Unmoving and unresponsive. While he himself didn't suffer any accountable injury, his brother seemed to take quite serious impacts due to the falling speed and also the addition of his little brother's weight. The telltale sign of blood could be spotted leaking out from underneath him.

"Nii-nii-san", with trembling hands Yukio reached down and gently shook his twin's shoulders, "Wake up"

His fear escalated when the teen didn't even stir from the stimulation. He called out his name desperately again and again, and with every silence which hang after that, he grew more anxious to the point of suffering a major panick-attack.

"No no no, don't die! Please... Nii-san!"

"Who the heck dies *cough* Yukio...", a raspy voice chuckled and a warm arm wrapped around his nether waist.

Yukio blinked back the tears, faint hope rapidly blossoming in his chest at hearing the particular voice. Rin had his eyes opened and was staring up at him with tired amusement. Now that he took a good look at him, a wide trail of blood could be seen flowing from beneath his hair down to his left jaws and his shirt and pants were torn savagely in various of places. A new set of tears started to accumulate at the back of his eyes as he leaned down and tightly glomped on the limp body.

"Rin! Thank God you're okay! Bu.. But...", he gestured a wild arm towards the sheer height of the cliff, "How? H-h-how can we, you know, survive?"

Rin chuckled as he flared back his fire, engulfing an astonished Yukio in the process. Rin extended his hand into the fire and softly dragged it across the blue living curtain, generating a few ripples in the blaze.

"It's all thanks to this. When we were falling down, I had this sudden, and completely crazy idea... to expand my blue flame into a giant ball and hope it's power would be enough to decelerate our falling speed before we hit the ground", he explained and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

Yukio widened his perplexed eyes in both awe and ludicrousness. It made sense. The flame was technically the outward manifestation of his energy and certainly possessed some sort of repelling ability. So if he extended the diameter, it could possibly act as a makeshift substance to slow down their descend.

Incredibly reckless, shallow thinking, indefinite luck-based idea, but an idea nonetheless. And it had saved them from literally going splat to grotesque innumerable pieces.

As the flame continued dancing a slow waltz around the pair of twins, Yukio held his head down. He vaguely remembered Rin wrapping his arms around him protectively, and also, without hesitation, positioned himself beneath him so that he would take the majority of the impact.

_"The third drop, the drop of blood. Sometimes, love forces you to make difficult choices, certain sacrifices which hurt you physically... to save your beloved"_

Mixtures of feelings were flourishing inside him, unable to contain it inside, he mumbled quietly, "Tha-thank you.. Nii-san.. for saving me"

Rin grinned, "No need to thank me bro, it's what big brothers are for right? And, you know what?" he caught Yukio in his intense blue eyes, so tender and sincere, blessing him with the limitless expanse of love, "I'm truly happy, that you chose to jump"

Diving into the sea of deadly fire willingly during the midst of a dying descend was not an easy feat. It required great courage... and trust on the expense of one's own life.

"Thank you for trusting me", he whispered softly and truthfully, leaving a lingering impression as if he's the most happiest of men in the world.

Yukio was briefly stunned by the shameless but likely genuine confession, so his elder brother took the opportunity to cup his hands on his twin's cheeks, leaning closer and closer. Closer, steadily closing the gap between them.

Then their lips finally connected in a chaste kiss. Firm arms slithered around his neck and back to pull their bodies flush tightly together. Yukio simply remained frozen when his brother trailed his tongue on his lower lip and nibbled innocently on it.

It was over as soon as it began. The chemistry was cut with-

"OKUMURA! Both Okumura! Are you guys ALIVE?!", Shima's voice shrieked suddenly, jolting both brothers, as pitter patter of footsteps drew closer to them.

-a frantic interrupting scream from a worried-to-death pink-haired buddy.

Yukio blinked, his mind was still hazy and unresponsive from the unexpected kiss. Rin grinned cheekily at him then got off from under the larger male, quickly limping over to his panicking fellow exorcists.

As Rin indulged into a loud conversation with his peers, Yukio finally grasped what had transpired just now and became internally combusted with embarassment. His whole body blushed deep scarlet as he covered his face with both of his palms.

_Hyaaa~ me and nii-san just...!_

And when he gathered what courage was left to look towards Rin, his heart skipped a beat at seeing Rin winking mischievously at him.

He opened his mouth, to try to think of a retort, but came to nothing. He then closed back his mouth then simply got up, dusting his pants to rid the dirt.. with a small smile poised at his lips.

_"I think... I know what you meant now Father... It is not easy, it takes years to correctly pinpoint and prove its worth, even after such time it just covers a small part of it. The meaning of the word you described twelve years ago,_

_LOVE..._

_More painful than being stabbed with a knife, more tiring than running a marathon track across the country, and more dangerous than challenging a ravenous herd of lions._

_Yet..._

_It was warm, a savory feeling which often described as the proverbial indescribable . Love was like the summer sun, its heat was unbearable and searingly hot, yet without it life simply wouldn't be possible. It was a vital sustenance, a rhythm in a melody... presence of water in an ocean._

_And it is a treasure, more valuable than a sum up of everything in this world"_

.

End

Another long chap!

Well hope you enjoy it! Yeah I know, I didn't clarify on Yukio's feelings but that's for you readers to decipher based on everything laid out in here *yay!* otherwise it won't be fun~

You are free to guess though!

Answers on the 10th chapter reviews:

**GreenEternalFlame:** thank you! Please keep reading it!

**Shiazen:** you really think the lemon is great? Thank you! Personally I think I've completely screwed up :3 Don't worry the author is still writing~

**FreshBleach**: happy belated birthday! Does my 'Rin' means the personality of Rin in here? Thank you for liking it! What do you like about this 'Rin' if I may ask?

**twilightserius:** umm... I think that's because they're half demons so their genes behave differently than humans :D

**guest**: thanks!

**Wyntermichaelis**: great suggestion! Thank you! I'll consider it :D

**PrinceRoxas**: mwahahahaha coz I like sad Rin! Don't worry, the play is coming in the next 2 chapters or so~ lemon eh? Hahaha I might or might not! *author get kicked*

**SuzukiKuma**: sorry I can't promise fast updates because my own schedule is cramped :( thanks for liking it though

**ashjs816**: thanks! And if I may ask, what does your author name stands for? I'm just curious :)

**anon**: thank you! I love fluffs~ mwahahahaha the Grand red moon eh? You'll find out soon *mysterious smile* what REALLY? I totally have to listen to the song! What's the title? *glimmering eyes*

**dragonlykitty**: thank you! I'm glad that you like my style which is kinda... long and unbearably descriptive :/ well, pliz keep reading~

**OnnaMusha**: Mwahahaha there will be 'sessions' between Yukio and Rin believe me :p thank you for the name suggestion! And I hope you continue writing that orific of yours! Long live plants army! XD

**MikaZuki Blood AngelofDarkness**: you think so too right? XD hahaha now that I reread it, it does sound a bit off. Thanks!

**Akihisa Sugisaki**: thank you! I actually like emotional development :) really? Seriously? There will be a movie coming in this year?! When will it be aired?! *overly excited* oooooh lovely suggestion! I'll consider it, thanks! XD

**A big fan**: Thank you so much for loving it! Yeah I do fancy fluffs so you can expect more of it in later chapters *wink* I'm really happy if someone appreciate the length coz it was hell to edit it so thanks a bunch~ Really? It isn't childish 0.0 somehow I can't believe that hahaha, well stay alert for other updates! XD

**Evil Light 0713**: All hail FLUFFY!

**SeverusDmitri18**: Here you go~

**Elvina Potter**: Mwahahaha it is right? Using Rin's emotional torture! *yay* Great idea! Yeah their bond is so much special than others, it is the reason behind the birth of this fic :) *chuckling madly* maybe or maybe not... U huv 2 read 2 find out! Thanks for always dropping reviews!

**CONTINUE PLS**: no it isn't dropped, I'm just too lazy to update *grin*

Next up~ the start of True Cross cultural festival :)

Please drop a review guys, it really makes me happy! And a happy author results in updates! XD

~Golden Mist Fox


	12. LoveLess 12: Mission

Ehehe *laughs sheepishly* I guess sorry isn't really enough to compensate for all the tiring wait, so here it is! A chap! *finally!*

'Coz it's been a long time, today's chap is supeeeer long, the longest I've written so far! :3 it is actually longer, but I decided to cut it since it is way too long +.+ expect the next chap soon!

Oh! I decided to put the drama chap later since I still want to fill in some events into the story before it :)

Thank you for all the generous reviews! They really fuel up such a lazy author like me, once again forgive me for all the wait! +.+

**LoveLess**  
><strong>Chapter 12: Mission<strong>

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"Aw~ Rin-chan you look so cute~", Shima cooed with an annoyingly high-pitched tone that seemed to grate at Rin's already mortified nerves.

"Shut your trap pinkie", the blue-haired teen grumbled, the slight blush painting his cheeks deepened visibly. His lean body was donned in a sleeveless white simple T-shirt with rips littering all over the cotton material. A grey scarf flipped over his neck and both long ends were left to dangle. For his lower-half body, he wore a pair of dark grey long pants with horizontal rips on each kneecap. A pair of black tufty ears were perched on his head, the shade blending nicely with the strands of his own short tresses. The added animal-characteristic fitted perfectly with his own naturally-attached tail, creating an image of an unruly werewolf.

"Ck, do I really have to wear this? I look even more ridiculous", he grumbled, one hand grasping at the twin triangular shapes situated on his head, "You made this Shiemi?"

Shiemi nodded vigorously like an overly-excited puppy, "Yes! It looks really cute on you Rin-kun! You look perfectly like the big bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood!", she bubbly commented with anime-pink-flowers visibly radiating off her suddenly vibrant background.

Rin sweatdropped, _'She didn't make this costume based on what she imagined as the wolf in that children-fairytale right?'_

"Just suck it up. Frankly this appearance adds up to your manly points", Bon snickered, ruffling Rin's hair but still mindful of the fake ears.

The poor teen smacked Bon's hand and groaned, "Not you too". Normally he would jump at the chance of bickering with this particular friend with a mean mouth, but then not any sum of his complaining would fix his pitiful situation anyway.

Yukio smiled reassuringly at his brother, "Don't worry nii-san", he placed a hand on his shoulder, "You really do look cute"

Rin leered at him with a pout on his lips, "Stop associating me with the word 'cute'. I've had enough coming from these lucky bunch. They all have nice roles with pretty costumes and I get fake ears to play as an uncouth beast?"

Yukio furrowed his eyebrows, "The lycanthrope in the story isn't exactly uncouth, he is just a little awkward around people"

"It's the same idiot", Rin mumbled, too small to be audible.

"Ok then!", Konekomaru chimed in with a clap to gain everyone's attention, "Let's go practice the play once more!"

Soon they were immersed in the play practice. Despite the fact that most of the members felt reluctant to perform, they couldn't deny that the story was quite enchanting. The fantasy mixed with a twist of angst would undeniably and profoundly tweak on the sentiments of the spectators and win them over with a galore of passionate lines.

After two-hours of intense practice, they excused themselves out of the serious atmosphere for a relaxing break in the spacious library. Luckily, in the innermost corner of the secluded room, there was a comfortable set of beige embroided couches which they happily used for soothing their fatigue.

"Demon sightings?", Bon repeated, quite surprised at the little break news.

Yukio nodded in confirmation, "Recently the number of demons prowling around the True Cross premise has increased dramatically. Eventhough they don't exactly display violent traits, the higher ups still call for tightening the security and increasing vigilance"

"Ooh", Shima said, "So that's why the curfew hour for students was recently set earlier without a clear reason"

"And the reason for the weird rule about being with a male companion or at least three girls together when walking at night. I even heard on the grapevine that some unidentified rapist is on the loose, guess that's nothing but a baseless rumor then..", Izumo nodded slowly in understanding.

Konekomaru joined the small discussion, "But", his eyebrows were creased in worry, "What is exactly the factor that causes the increase in the number? Could it be that-"

"That is", Yukio cut in before apprehension could start building on the exorcists' hearts, "still remain unconfirmed. I strongly suggest to abide that particular rule for your own safety. The reason why I share that information is because I think you ought to know as you are exorcists, not to frighten you with some imaginary malevolent reasons"

Shiemi lowered her head, softly mumbled in a worried tone, "I hope nothing bad happens..."

Soon, the tension-inducing-topic dissolved to nothingness as the resting exorcists steered the conversation to more harmless ones. They chatted away with random conversing partners about nothing in particular, it served a double purpose actually, consciously it's for easing their minds, unconsciously it's for giving them another element of teenager normalcy.

"You want some?", Shima slid an intricatedly-carved wooden chair close to the couch, then momentously sit on it. A bright flower-themed candy box was offered to a close party.

Bon scrutinized the neon-red cylindrical candy like it was poison-infused, "What the hell is that?"

"Strawberry candy, duh! It's the new product of Islink"

Konekomaru raised two brows in interest, it was a very well-known brand that had been in business from decades ago, "The True Cross confectionary?"

"Yep, the one and only"

All doubt drained dry, Konekomaru swiftly took one then popped the sweet candy inside his mouth. Bon followed suit. Then Shima directed his gaze towards the silent teacher sitting in a lone armchair near the giant rectangular glass windows.

"You want some teach?"

Yukio abandoned his deep engrossment of the play script, and looked at his student/friend. He smiled and leaned forward.

"Thank you", he said, taking a quick scan of the red pearly ball, then inserting it in his mouth.

"Oi gimme one Shima", Rin sauntered close approaching them, staring at the candy box with a curious gaze. His fake neko ears accompanied with a twitching black tufty tail truly completed the image of a curious cat. Shima gave an apologetic smile as he shook the candy box which produced no expected clattering sound, "Sorry mate, Okumura-sensei took the last one"

Rin's face fell in exaggerated sadness, "Oooooow~"

Yukio examined the scene in contemplation, silently weighing his options, "Nii-san", he called out softly, causing Rin to regarded him his attention. Yukio pointed a forefinger to his mouth, "Do you want a taste?"

At that point, the noise in the library toned down considerably, the cram class students ceased their current topic of conversation for a new one, eyes locked curiously to the two brothers.

Rin perked up at that, a grin blossomed on his face. He strided with enthusiastic gait towards his twin, his tail were wagging from side to side serving as an outlet for his exuberance.

"You don't mind? Sure!"

Izumo had a blank look plastered on her face, "Is he seriously..."

Rin stopped in front of his twin before leisurely climbed on the soft couch Yukio occupied. His lean legs slided to straddle the taller male, closing the distance between them with ease, without the slightest worry that they were currently exposed to public eyes. Rin leaned his body closer, hands went to cupping themselves securely on his jaws, prompting Yukio to tilt his head upwards. The younger twin snaked his arms on the back of a slim waist, almost subsconciously.

Rin leaned his face close to his twin's, in response, Yukio slid his tongue out with the candy situated at the tip of the pink appendage. Rin eyed the pearl-like delicacy whispering "Itadakimasu", before his opened lips casually descended upon it, engulfing both the candy and his sibling's tongue. Yukio seemed surprised for a while but then relaxed and let his older sibling tasted him.

Although they were already quite familiar with the touchy-feely way the pair of brothers liked to treat the other with, this rare scene had definitely pierced through their normalcy chart. The girls immediately averted their gazes away and the boys seemed to have been consumed in a trance, with gaping mouths they absorbed the lewd scene.

The brothers continued on with their supposedly-not-be-made-public ministration, oblivious whatsoever of their vicinity. Rin hummed in appreciation of the sensation that flooded his tongue, it was delightful sweetness mixed with delicate sourness. To reap more of the flavor, he undeliberately pushed their battling tongues gently into his twin's mouth. And Rin gave himself the privilege of twisting and swiveling the candy around the private cavern of his twin's mouth.

As to Yukio's response to the probing tongue that was relentless in its attack, he merely widened his mouth generously to grant his twin's eager treatment to the pearly-sweet-red marble better easeness.

At last, when Rin deemed the tasting session as satisfactory, he withdrew his tongue with a quiet 'slosh', revealing his happy and sated-expression. Yukio seemed a little dazed, a light blush coloring his cheeks, but still his lips was crooked in a subtle smile.

"Was that really necessary nii-san?", he murmured in subtle amusement, his glazed green eyes gazed up at his brother's expressive ones in mild curiosity.

"Hm?", Rin blinked down at his younger sibling innocently. He seemed to think about it for a moment and then answered cheerfully, "It's not exactly 'necessary', as you put it, I just thought it would give me a better access at tasting the candy"

The 'also you' part wasn't mentioned, but Yukio couldn't confirm whether his brother possessed that kind of ulterior motive. He didn't mean to accuse him of anything, but this kind of thinking fleeted over his mind due to the fact that his elder sibling was, after all, extremely clingy to begin with. The amount of public and private physical affections was a fitting testimony for his analysis.

Yukio leaned back, planting his back more comfortably to the soft material of the chair, "Uh huh", he replied softly, closing his eyes, "So how's the candy?"

"It was quite good", Rin commented as he lowered his body and planted it firmly on the cushion of his twin's lap. His tail was swinging in sedated lethargy.

Yukio nodded, "Indeed, the strawberry flavor was quite sour, but underneath the primary taste, there is sweetness underlaying it accompanied with rich milky sensation. It truly is an excellent confection"

Rin chuckled, "You really are passionate 'bout this kinda stuff. Tell you what, how 'bout we visit this Islink store and buy some for ya?"

Yukio's smile became a little bit brighter, "That would be great"

Shiemi giggled heartily, "Yuki-chan and Rin-kun sure are very close hm?"

Konekomaru sweatdropped and laughed uneasily, "That's a mild way of putting it"

"Ugh you lovebirds", Bon snapped at the two chatting brothers who seemed oblivious to their surrounding, "Stop it with the PDA, are ya trying to blind our eyes by your lovey-dovey session or what, get some room would ya!"

Rin leered menacingly at his forever-claimed enemy, "Mind your own business chicken butt"

Despite the obvious fact that the petname had been overused and supposed to have lost the element to irk somebody, the ever temperamental guy still fumed up at that, "What did ya yap again midget?", he made a move to approach the brothers. Shima quickly stood up and barricated Bon's furious strides, "Ma ma", he tried suppresing his long-time friend's temper with his trademark soothing voice, "Let them be. You know how this is a normal thing for them that they _absolutely_ like doing on a regular basis"

Izumo piped into the conversation, feeling that she had to point out an obvious thing that seemed to escape her friend's understanding, "You know Okumura", she fought from blushing at the intimate closeness she was forced to see given the etiquette of looking at someone directly when talking, "when sensei has a girlfriend, you won't be able to hog him up for yourself"

Rin didn't seem to like the idea as he frowned, "No way", he possessively wrapped his arms around Yukio's neck and clutched him against his chest tightly, "It definitely won't be like that. He's mine"

His classmates looked at Rin as if he had just grown his second tail then at their teacher, expectantly waiting for his response.

Especially Bon, "Well sensei?"

Yukio gave a little content smile and placed one of his two hands on his brother's small back, "It is what nii-san decides"

Izumo huffed, throwing her gaze away from the scene, and muttered, "Idiotic pair of brothers"

Rin tensed up. He was itching to confront both the nosy commentators and yell out profanities on their faces. Thankfully Yukio noticed that so he tightened his hold, not to cause pain but to prevent his brother from jumping off and let his anger got the best of him. It worked. The firm arms which were securely wrapped around Rin's lean form seemed to effectively douse his fiery intention. So the older Okumura merely leered darkly at them above his shoulders, growling out, "I can hear that just fine Eyebrows. And I may be an idiot in memorizing theories and analyzing text-based situations. But..." Rin's deep blue eyes glared past the tall windows of the libraries up to the roof of a neighboring taller building, connecting with surprised grey ones, "I am certainly not an idiot in other department..."

_'He is able to spot me?'_

Blazing blue fire blared threateningly on a specific spot on the otherwise barren roof, if not for a figure that jumped barely in time to avoid the fire from scorching him to crisp. The figure quickly darted towards a safer area that was hidden from the watchful view of the half demon. He glared coldly at the rim of the skyline as he meticulously fixed his rich-golden tie.

The demon had a nice tall-stature build clad suitably with raven-colored apparel of an expensive business suit. Mid-back length white tresses bound in a low ponytail with a simple red hair-tie was neatly tucked behind a pair of elf-like ears. Icy metallic grey eyes were fixed far ahead, silently working out kinks of unknown mysteries.

"Hn", a deep rumble reverberated off his chest, "Quite impressive"

"Does it not fit with your shallow prediction?"

The only indication that the demon acknowledged the extra presence was the slight rigidness accumulated on the set of his shoulders. A hint of nonchalant condescending glint infiltrated the hue of his eyes.

"Heh Mephisto.. The demon that has since long ago abandoned the Gehenna for the mundane Assiah. Do you still find it entertaining to associate yourself with these filthy humans?"

Mephisto smirked, his slanted eyes sized the demon up with amused arrogance, "Oh please don't mind me. I am more curious in your penchant for stalking others' private lives, yours doesn't live up to your expectation? The king of greed sure does set up high standards, eh Mammon?"

A generous blow of wind brushed past the two standing demons, staging a rather hostile atmosphere befitting for both lethal gentlemen, "Don't tempt me Mephisto", the deep voice was laced with a warning growl, "As to erase your false impression upon my person, I am here to deliver a special message for the half demon. Otherwise I won't even consider stepping foot on this worthless Assiah"

Mephisto quirked an interested brow, "Certainly rare. A message?"

Mammon harrumphed in confirmation, his steely grey eyes glinted in gleeful menace although his outer countenance betrayed the excitement bubbling within, "from Satan-sama"

The clown-like principal's countenance fell in degree of the generous mirth he was displaying earlier. The usually jovial facial muscles contorted to a slight forlorn look, "That is unfortunate", he whispered.

Mammon leered at the purple-eyed demon. In a mere span of half a second his facade faltered slightly, showing deep resentment, before the emotion was quickly quenched for a disinterested scowl instead, "For a brief moment, I was convinced of the notion that you may worry for the half-demon. But then..", Mammon turned his head back, his eyes once again settled in a cold uncaring glare, "..that smirk when you are engaged in a twisted game you invented yourself gave you away"

A light disturbance of the wind occurred in the vicinity before the greed demon was nowhere to be seen. The True Cross principal stood alone on the quiet roof as he mulled over his latest encounter with a particularly interesting  
>being. A strangely beatific smile was pronounced in his thin lips.<p>

Night had fallen, the exorcists had long since returned to their chambers to rest for the day.

The Okumura brothers were also in their joined room, in the bed one of them was leisurely enjoying a shoujo manga lying on his stomach and the other was busy in dressing himself in his complicated exorcist garment.

Rin, noticing the shuffle going on in the room, looked up from his manga, "Hm? You going out for a mission?"

Yukio didn't pause to look at Rin's way and gave him a brief answer, "Yes, a patrolling duty"

Rin stole a look at the clock, "At this hour? It's waaay past curfew!"

"The principal is the one who ordered it, so I presume it doesn't matter if we breach a rule of his"

Almost instantly the half demon tensed up. The recently unveiled fact about the increasing number of demonic sightings caused a surge of protectiveness to sprout out from his elder brother's instinct. He knew his brother could more than take care for himself but his heart was still drenched with persistent worry.

He sat up, "I'll go with you"

Yukio's uneasy eyes flicked over his twin, "You're never interested in patrolling duty before", he pointed out.

"Well I am now, got a problem with that?"

"Nii-san.."

"Don't 'nii-san' me, I did nothing wrong, I'm just tagging along to hone my 'exorcist-ness'. You're the one who's been nagging me 'bout boosting up my 'poorly-executed' group cooperation skill", Rin smirked, obviously recalling a past event that surely was humorous in nature, but his eyes were of unyielding force that challenged his calculative sibling daringly.

Yukio eyed his brother, his mind worked on shifting over possible counter-remarks to discourage his brother from coming along, but sighed dejectedly when coming upon none that could possibly win over his brother's adamant reasoning.

"Hn"

Rin flashed him a Cheshire grin and with polished agility, had already teleported to his little brother's side, full-geared with Kurikara securely tied across his shoulders.

"I immensely appreciate your well-versed decision, little brother", Rin mused with a side-glance to his taller sibling. A particularly wayward hand teasingly reached down as to grope a lump of round flesh, eliciting a surprised yelp from the younger Okumura.

"Hey!", Yukio let loose of a rare shout out of embarrassment, his hand automatically clamped over his violated buttocks.

Rin nonchalantly went past his flustered twin as if nothing had happened, "Come on Yukio", he called out over his shoulder, a satisfied teasing look was defined on his face, "I'm sure some naughty demons would be pleased to make acquaintances with us today~"

Yukio could only put on a dead-panned look as Rin swiftly trudged down the wood-stairs. He shook his head in defeat at his sibling's occasionally questionable act before following him down with a quieter gait.

Rin placed a foot out of the doorway as he craned his neck to stare at the lounging black lump spreaded on the counter.

"Take care of the house for us will ya?"

A pair of triangular shapes perked up before the cat yawned lazily. Bulged eyes gazed back at the half-demon as he meowed in response, **"Leave it to me Rin!"**

Rin smiled, "Counting on ya Kuro"

They left after Yukio had double-locked their apartment, they certainly didn't need late-night visitors who self-indulged themselves in the old-fashioned courage test of infiltrating an 'abandoned' mansion, and made it a habit to force their way in by any means necessary. Even though their living place was far away from the students dormitories, it never hurt to take precaution measures.

The night air felt cool against their welcoming skins and crickets sang their special melodies to the sleeping world around them. A few steps down the road Rin spoke up, "So where to? The entire True Cross?"

Rin inwardly grimaced, as much as he loved an exorcist job, night-time wandering in the humongous expanse of the 'school' failed to appeal to his magnanimous side.

"No", Yukio answered, "Basically we start from the North-West wing, where the school dormitory is located, then moving south passing by the True Cross Entrance gate. After that we will enter the Southern Woods where we'll be conducting a thorough scaling of the ground"

Rin nodded in understanding, "Sounds good" 'Thankfully it's not the entire area' "so what's up with the Southern Woods anyway?"

"It is where the demonic energy has been building up gradually, enough to drive some local animals to flee away in fright"

The half-demon absorbed the new-found information with interest, he raised another question, "But I thought that the Southern Woods is a forest specifically-conserved for research means?"

"It's been made off-the-limits to students and teachers alike at the moment"

"Ho I see, all the more reason to kick these demons' asses eh?", Rin slapped his knuckles to his palm, excited anticipation filled his expression as well as his body gesture.

Yukio glared reprimandingly at his brother. They had arrived to the Eastern-most faculty area in which it was impregnated with the first network of intricate Ancient-styled buildings. Even in the vicinity of this area, there was no a single soul strutting about, even the public trams which run around the clock on a series of rails encompassing the entire True Cross premise, was astonishingly remained pretty empty at this relatively early hour.

"Please refrain from jumping to reckless decision, nii-san", Yukio reminded his brother with a stern expression. They had arrived to a tram-stop, barren of any other waiting passengers, with thankfully an approaching tram in sight.

"Don't worry, I'll behave", Rin purred, he moved closer until their bodies touched. Slipping smoothly under Yukio's arm, he rubbed his cheeks against his brother's hard side, "like a good puppy you want me to be~"

Yukio shifted his arm, draping it comfortably across Rin's back, "I hope you will", he chuckled, striding forward towards the stopping tram and gently pulling along his hooked twin, "And I also hope you didn't forget to bring your tram card?"

"Nawh~ you wound me. I'm not that careless", Rin grinned, hopping up the door with his twin close following behind. There was only 2 other passengers in the tram, so the other unoccupied seats were within their liberty to choose. Rin claimed the one furthest away from them and Yukio took the one beside him. The passengers, judging from their clothes were probably teachers, stole a couple of glances at them, probably wondering where the two male teenagers were going to past curfew time. But since one of them wore the uniform of the mysterious unit with covert objectives approved by the principal himself, they didn't dare to scold them about abiding the curfew.

The journey took about 10 minutes since they were crossing to the Western side. They left the tram at the dormitory stop.

"Quite a big number eh?", Rin commented, referring to the 5 people clad with the designated dark exorcist over-coats in front of the silver lofty entrance gate.

"Even though the demons are relatively civil, there is no guarantee they will remain that way. A capable team is absolutely mandatory.."

The exorcists standing outside the dormitory gate acknowledged the brothers' presence almost as soon as they boarded off. Curiosity and apathy were the nature of the gazes that fell on Rin's unexpected addition to the group. Seeing that these stoic mix of exorcists addressed their assigned mission with rigid seriousness, Rin straightened his posture as the silent brothers trudged closer to the group.

The oldest of them, a male adult with a cold gaze stepped in front to greet Yukio, "Good night Okumura-san, it's nice that you could join us here", then he directed his gaze at Rin, "And who might this young man be?"

Rin quickly perceived that the tall exorcist obviously had a higher ranking than the rest of the exorcists huddling behind him. So he wore his promise with his twin and presented him with his best harmless smile, "Pleased to meet your acquaintance. I am Okumura-sensei's brother, Okumura Rin, a Lower First Class", he offered his hand for a greeting handshake.

Almost immediately the older exorcist countenance darkened, but he still stiffly accepted Rin's hand, "I am Kurosawa Touda of Upper Second Class rank"

Rin smiled before releasing his hand.

**'So he's the same rank as our dear brother eh? They must serve as the double leaders of this group'**

_'Without doubt. He dislikes us though'_

**'Then it's best for us to stay in his good graces'**

_'You actually come up with something I can agree with for a change'_

The group quickly departed with their first destination in the picture, the dormitory. Touda swiped a card and the giant metal double-gate of the dormitory slid open without resistance.

It didn't elude Yukio's acute perception that the unexpected and most likely unwelcomed presence he brought put all the exorcists on edge, but he still understood the need for him to lead the group's trek with Touda in front. So he immediately engaged himself with a formal conversation with the older male as to serve his unwritten duty to accompany him, but then noted to himself to be with his brother pronto.

Rin walked alone in the middle of the small group, his curious eyes wandered around his surrounding taking in all the tall apartments of the dormitories.

_'Ah so this is where Bon and the others live. It's quite fancy'_

**'Not like ours you imply?'**

_'Yes I think, but not in a bad way'_

**'Anywhere is fine for you if there's him'**

Rin huffed quietly,_ 'No shit. Yukio is my whole freaking world and I always radiate moe moe flowers while riding a rainbow unicorn with him everyday. Is that what you want me to say?'_

A humorous scoff was his answer.

The inner link was severed abruptly when Rin noticed an exorcist approached him. A brunette boy with a winning height gave Rin a smile that didn't quite reach his chocolate eyes, "Good evening, Okumura Rin-kun I presume? I am Hariyama Noel, Middle Second Class, it is a pleasure to meet you"

Rin accepted his offered hand with a warm grin, simply for the sake of contrasting the placid attitude, "A pleasure to meet you too" He used the brief moment to deduce a short profile on this suspiciously friendly male. He was dressed with the exorcist uniform without any conspicuous feature which could indicate which Meister he belong to. Judging from his facial structure, he was probably 20 something and was tremendously tall, to the short half-demon's chagrin. He seemed to have a shortage of available facial expressions from his lack of wearing a courtesy-kinda-mandatory cheeriness right now when greeting a new guy.

"You are quite the celebrity Okumura-kun", he stated suddenly, "Exorcists often entertain notions about you in their conversations"

The monotone voice made it hard to decipher this teen's level of hostility to him so Rin kept his tone neutral for his next sentence.

"I bet it is full of degrading remarks"

"No", the answer followed his last syllable smoothly as if it was a part of the previous sentence, "I can assure you it is not. They are mostly fleeting ideas that just happen to cross the conversations so of course, they don't hint on any ill intentions. Although, some of us find ourselves wonder more than the others", the inquisitive chocolate eyes flicked over the teen who had his hands nonchalantly in his pockets with growing interest, "about the rumor of your.. status"

Rin gave a humorless chuckle, "It's not a rumor, and you know it. And if what you want is confirmation then yeah, I'm a half demon and also, sadly, that bastard's Satan son"

Rin met Noel's eyes. He could see that the taller exorcist didn't seem to take his words as a clearance of his doubt about his 'status'.

"Still not convinced?"

Noel's lips crooked into a rigid smile , "You look human. You don't share any resemblance with that of a demon", he curtly pointed out.

"Hmm..." Rin ran a hand through his wild mane,_ 'I hope I don't regret this later... Well it's getting quite uncomfortable anyway... and he already knows that I'm not exactly human'_

Without further ado, he uncoiled his neatly convoluted tail from around his chest and abdomen, causing spiraling ripples to generate beneath his black school uniform. Then like a snake, the dark appendage slithered out of the confines of his clothes as it swung with cat-like-grace against the cool night air.

Rin grinned devilishly so that his sharp fangs were displayed for clearer view, "Do I look like one yet?"

The respond he got was really priceless, the non-emotional facade the male wore broke slightly to reveal pure surprise. It seemed the guy had very rare encounters with demons who bore humanoid appearances.

Noel continued his wondering gaze on Rin wordlessly before the tip of his fingers twitched. Half a second later, his hand shot out with purpose towards the swinging tail which garnered the alarm on the young demonic teen's head to blare out.

Rin swiftly swung his tail just out of reach of the taller male and angled his body to shield the precious appendage.

"Ah ah no touching. This one is off-limit", he cupped a careful hand around the pure-black length and ran a tender palm along it smoothly, a grin was perched on his lips although his eyes shone with a warning glint. Noel's facial muscle visibly fell in disappointment, but he quickly void his face of the said emotion, "I apologize Okumura-kun. It's just... an inclination on the spur of the moment I suppose"

Rin nonchalantly waved his hand, "Nah it's ok, most people usually wanna grab it the first time they see it. Don't be offended, I just don't like people touchin' it, it's quite sensitive you know", the tail twirled around Rin's torso and bristled as if to prove the point.

Noel nodded, "Yes I understand"

The little chat was suspended with the brief response and Rin could feel the awkwardness was gradually building up. He couldn't help but wonder why this guy approached him only to comment the identity of his 'species' and then went silent all of a sudden.

_'This is getting kinda awkward..'_

**'Well speak to him then! Why don't you put some good use to that flappy mouth of yours?'**

_'=.=" '_

"So", Rin chirped in with a totally friendly smile he usually didn't display for public use, "have you ever been to the Southern Woods?"

Noel glanced briefly at his walking companion before fixing his gaze forward again, "Yes, a few times actually. Since my major is Botanical Science I frequently visit the Southern Forest"

"Ooh... then you must have a guess on how it can be suddenly infested with demons? I mean it is a research area, so lots of people like you will visit it regularly, it's strange why demons would choose such place to prowl around"

"I am not certain either. Its aura lacks any malevolent nature and there's no record of killings so far. So I suspect the area is to the demons' liking simply because of the crowded vegetations"

"But then.. Wouldn't the Eastern Grand Forest be the more preferable choice? Based from its outer view, it's obviously denser than the Southern one"

Noel seemed to contemplate the notion, "Yes that might be a plausible opinion. But then, it is the sole property of our Principal, Mephisto Pheles, so utmost security of the area is guaranteed, no demons should be able to trespass"

"You've never been there?"

"The area is off-limit"

_'Well, that huge-ass forest turns out to belong exclusively to that clown, no wonder he got the guts to build something so suspiciously obvious like an old mansion that is far away from the general humans' buildings, no one will ever see it anyway. Who knows what other things he had hidden there..'_

The peculiarity of that mysterious house still plagued his mind sometimes, that he couldn't help but be overly aware of it. Yukio had already made clear of his objection in prolonging Rin's involvement with the rather shady place, every time he left for Ei no Sumai, his little brother's face would contort with heavy worry it seemed as if he had to hold himself back from forcefully stopping him. Yet, his conviction wouldn't allow him to back down. Another thing to add on the long list of his worry-wart little brother's burdens... that was caused by him.

_'Heh, some elder brother I am'_

Noel's chocolate eyes leered at the half demon's uncharacteristically brooding face with an undecipherable attitude which unfortunately escaped the occupied Rin's notice.

"Hariyama Noel", a deep voice suddenly called out. Noel glanced up before wordlessly quickened his pace to reach the older exorcist in front, but still took time to bide a brief farewell to Rin, "It's nice talking to you Okumura-kun, if you'll excuse me.."

Rin smiled in acknowledgement with a lift of his hand in good-natured response. His blue eyes swept over the back of the striding teen's back to connect with ones belonging to the aloof old exorcist. Touda stared impassively at the young half-demon before he caught sight of Rin's tail-bone's elongation swaying niftily in perfect harmony with the gentle breeze. Disdain filled the murky grey orbs before the owner of said hostile eyes broke contact to converse with young Kuga.

_'Hmph'_, Rin sneered before throwing his gaze away, choosing to use his sight to properly admire the under-appreciated beauty of his surroundings rather than trying to laser-eyed the back of the elder's skull, _'Typical..'_

The little group had finished their brief sweep of the dormitory ground, thankfully without anything out-of-the-ordinary that was worth mentioning, as Touda and Yukio led them out from the smaller side gate, dutifully proceeding Northern. The decibel had significantly fallen in intensity as they shared a common relaxing inclination to enjoy the rare scene of the humongous True Cross at night-time.

It truly was a magnificent school which lived up to its concept of a city. Pristine colored tiles were embroidered meticulously throughout the school roads serving as connecting accesses to various buildings which served miscellaneous purposes. Even in the period of cessation of activities, adequate lights still illuminated the roads and buildings alike intensifying the artistic touch engraved at every polished nook. The elevating structure of the school caused the entire area to be perfectly viewable from every spot, and Rin still found it fascinating even though he had resided in there for quite a long time.

After a few minutes of peaceful walking, Rin noticed in his peripheral vision that Yukio had slowed his pace until it matched with his own. The edge of his brother's face promoted rigidness equivalent to that of polished proficiency but when he properly looked at him, it visibly softened as a small smile blossomed in his lips.

"You done with the professional talk?"

"I guess so. It's nothing professional actually, we only had idle chats of that held little importance"

"Uhuh.. I bet the little idle chat you had could give a dictionary a run of its money. Anyway, about that Touda guy, I'm pretty sure he wakes up at the wrong side of the bed all his life doesn't he?"

Yukio stiffened at hearing the rude out-loud description his brother dared to declare to accommodate the literal translation of what he think of the high-ranking exorcist in his mind, over-bearingly honest at that, "Sssh nii-san, someone could have heard you!"

"Naah, you jest. So what's the story?"

Yukio shifted his eyes to stare at the male's back, mulling over the question his twin inquired and correlating it with his own understanding, "I presume it's because he has an unfortunate loss during the Blue Night so he might have developed a prejudice against you, although irrelevantly. But don't worry about it nii-san, he is someone who won't involve personal feelings with work", Yukio concluded with an assuring tone.

"You sure?"

"Yes. Touda-san is also a preacher that often shares his strong views about Christianity in the Grand Chapel. Many people respect him"

"Hm.. I bet he's also sore on the fact that you've got the same rank as him even though he beat you by a high notch in term of 'senile-ness' ", he smirked at his brother, earning an expected scolding glare.

"Nii-san-"

"So, this Grand Chapel", he cut in before a string of preaching could be insinuated by the brunette, "I felt I've heard about it before, is it near?"

Yukio swallowed the urge to sigh, instead opting to shake his head subtly, "You've been living here for more than a year yet you still don't have a general understanding of special places here?"

Rin shrugged nonchalantly, " 's not like I can memorize every pretty building in here, honestly, it's like they're all 'special' with how big and complicated they look"

Yukio resisted the urge to twitch his eyebrow, "It's situated in the heart of the True Cross Town Square. See there?" Yukio gestured a hand towards his left, particularly pinpointing a distant construction with a bell attached under the roof peeking above the ragged lines of all the buildings, "that's the one"

Rin nodded in an intellectual manner, "I see I see, quite a work of art indeed with all the paintings drawn on its walls. Hm, the top ones there, baby Jesus in Maria's arms?"

Yukio's face slipped in surprised bewilderment. Truthfully, he was only able to barely pinpoint the distant Grand Chapel that was shrouded in pitch darkness by the humongous bell hanging from its uppermost part. And yet how could his elder brother able to infer some minuscule descriptions about the far and dark building?

"Hey hey is that the Islink store Shima talked about?", Rin elatedly exclaimed while pointing to a well-garishly-lit shop sandwiched neatly by some eye-catching others which appeared to have terminated their opening hours earlier than usual courtesy of the recent law.

Yukio removed his eyes from the distant area to look at the shop Rin's pointing at, "Ah yes you're right", he agreed after seeing the classic monogram of the confectionery above the closed double-door, "So it is in the west-wing Little Village.."

"Ha! Ya don't know a 'special' place too!"

"Is not. It's only a candy store"

"Is too"

"Is not"

"Is too"

Time really flies, they say, this was proven true with how the lengthy distance between the dorm and their final destination, The Southern Woods, was accomplished without any slightest hindering thought popping in their minds. But it's not because of the replenishing effect of having an enjoyable time, but rather the vigorous training each individual had undergone that the supposedly fatigue-inducing long walk didn't even reduce their efficient gaits.

Now the looming dignity of the Southern Woods stood majestically in front of the exorcists.

Touda halted and faced the 6 others behind, prompting them to do just the same and waited patiently for what he might have to inform them.

Touda swept his eyes over the group to ascertain their attentions were solely on him, then raised his voice in a commanding tone, "Attention! We're now in front of our main designated patrolling area, the Southern Woods. As all info of this place has been handed out to you, I'll keep this short. The utmost important thing to keep in mind is to remain vigilant at all times, even though forest demons normally avoid humans, there's no guarantee they will maintain such civil demeanor for a minute longer. Keep your senses alert for any slightest change and don't desert off from the group. And lastly, prepare for possible combat"

His gnarly eyebrows were furrowed intimidatingly as if he'd like to personally drill in his latest commands in the lower ranking exorcists' minds (except Yukio). The consequences would certainly be dire if they didn't uphold these commands as they came from both the fruit of the worst scenario and from the strict leader's ends.

"I'll be walking in front, Yamada Mai and Uno Yariko in the second line. Hariyama Noel and Uno Atsushi in the third line. And Okumura-sensei along with Okumura Rin in the last line, should anything come up from behind I believe Okumura-sensei will assist best in countering the threat won't he?", Touda deduced while meeting the exorcist's eyes in question.

Yukio gave a saluting smile, "Hai, Touda-san"

The man with graying hair nodded in acknowledgement then his hand sank into his inner pocket and pulled out what appeared to be mini lantern with mobile straight metal stick to act as its handle. His other hand lit a fire and swiftly turned on the lantern which surprisingly gave of strong beam of illumination around its small body. Without further ado, he turned around to commence the mission into the dense woods.

Rin cocked a questioning brow at the choice of lighting tool and his other brow lifted too when his twin pulled out a similar looking tool from his coat and lit it up swiftly with nimble fingers.

"A lantern in this day and age? Really?"

Yukio shrugged in his own professional way, "Well, Pheles-san is rather insistent about embodying the orthodox culture in the True Cross"

"Stuck-up clown", Rin rolled his eyes as the last light which was held by Yukio diminished gradually into the dark shadows of The Southern Woods.

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Hehe Chapter 12 Done! I've finished the next chapter already, but it still needs a last finishing touch so expect it to be posted in just under a week! :3

Please Review :D the reviews from the last chapter really keeps me going after abandoning this fic for quite some time ***'It's 10 months you slimy jerk!'**, somewhere someone threw a shoe* but please believe me, I will finish it no matter what! REVIEW! ^.^

~Golden Mist Fox


	13. LoveLess 13: Fire, on Fire

Woohoo~ chapter 13! It's here already! And it's even longer than the last chap, I really hope I can write shorter ones next time :D

Please enjoy~

**LoveLess**  
><strong>Chapter 13: Fire, on Fire<strong>

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The trek was drenched in silence that contrasted with the previous lively atmosphere the whole group exuded just steps before entering the choking thickness of the forest. It seemed that the forest's unsettling state of eerie quietness had infested upon the group of whose defense instincts automatically tried to mimic it in order to stay inconspicuous to whatever living creatures that might be lurking around them.

Rin flicked his eyes warily to his left and right, he knew that this forest which was strangely barren of the usual voices of nocturnal creatures was caused by something ill in nature, hiding somewhere. But the only thing he could do was to keep alert, and just be ready to jump in battle. The tall brunette also had a similar kind of growing apprehension which tickled his exorcist instinct, his knuckles clutched the handle of his little lantern tighter than what should be necessary.

Several minutes of skirting the depth of the forest had been spent on scanning meticulously for anything that was out of place, still, nothing other than the silence appeared before them as a sign of peculiarity. The worn-out trail wound up and stretched like an endless path that led them deeper into the heart of the forest, the circle of light advanced gradually on them litting it up as a necessary assistance for the humans' relatively poor night-vision.

Yukio frowned, he knew that when combat became an immediate obligation, the lantern would certainly hinder their movements, yet if they were stripped off it, their blind-spots would be immense and slow down their reaction time. At times like this, he couldn't help but curse the principle and his questionable demands that inconveniently handicapped his own exorcists.

Rin chuckled suddenly, causing Yukio to leer questioningly at the shorter male besides him, "This feels damn similar like the scene in a horror film before something bad happens doesn't it?"

Yukio reverted his gaze to the pillars of trees on which undulated shadows were dancing, "I just hope everything will still be manageable by our hands"

"So you do think something would happen eh?"

"It's hard not to.."

"Well don't worry", Rin wound his arm around his twin and flashed him a version of his smug grin, "In times of danger, your onii-chan will protect you with his mighty power so you should just rely on him a bit more. It's sad to see someone as young as you every time has this wrinkle on his forehead, it'll become permanent if you keep at it", Rin tapped a finger at his own forehead.

For a split second Yukio subconsciously relaxed his upper facial muscle but then, seemingly realized his compliance, hardened it once more, " I am not so much younger than you. Besides, I think most will find it fitting to associate the word reliability with the younger Okumura", the teacher allowed a rare teasing smile to adorn his lips, causing his fairly volatile-tempered sibling to bristle at record time.

"Hey! That's so not true! I'm ten times more awesome than you, period!"

"I fail to comprehend how awesomeness will be of assistance to fend off adversaries"

"You should relearn the meaning of comprehension then!"

"That particular piece of advice is rather unconvincing coming from someone who still hasn't even gotten the basic grasp on simple integrals"

"Urgh you!"

"Quiet!", a harsh throaty voice barked reprimandingly coming from a Touda-san. The middle-aged man was still trudging forward but managed to angle a sharp glare at both brothers, "Refrain from indulging in asinine activities and thus advertising our position to undesirable creatures. You should have understood it better than anyone Okumura-sensei"

A small giggle came from one of the second-row pair, a bespectacled petite girl with short ginger-hair. Rin glared at her and the girl gasped and turned forward once more.

Yukio had a vague blush riding in his cheekbones and fixed his glasses out of reflex, "Hai, Touda-san"

Rin stubbornly whispered at the brunette, although much quieter this time, "What the hell? How dare that snotty jii-san tell you off by shaming you in front of the lower ranking others like that! It's not like he's superior than you!"

A part of Yukio was touched at how furious Rin seemed about it, but he couldn't exactly wallow in the justification his brother dug for him, as it wasn't exactly true.

"Even if we are of the same rank, he is still more superior than me in age"

"That doesn't mean he could trample on your pride like that!"

"What he said was no less than the truth"

"... why are you defending the bastard?"

Yukio sighed and rid the assertiveness in his tone for his next sentence, "I am not nii-san, I just think it is best to not store up bad thoughts about Touda-san, he is quite an influential figure feared for his excellent exterminating skills among the exorcists"

"Even more so than you?"

"... yes"

"Ahha!", Rin pointed a victorious finger towards his twin's face, "you hesitated there!"

"Can we just let go of this topic?"

"You know, you know the answer already"

"... (sigh)"

Not long after that, the track had rapidly widened and the line of trees diminished quite considerably leading to a giant clearing in which a massive wooden structure stood a proud three-stories high. As expected, the design was quite classical with minimal amount of windows available and some parts of the paint were peeled or blemished by dark stains.

Rin whistled as his eyes traveled up the huge building in growing excitement, "Sweet~ think some kinda evil spirits are home?"

"It's only the research building", Yukio intercepted Rin's imagination to prevent it from going wild over nothing, "it's regularly used by teachers and students for over-night researches so there's _no_ _way_ it can be haunted"

Rin's face fell and he whined disappointedly, "Ooow... Now you've ruined my carefully-crafted master plan"

"What sort of plan are you blabbering now?"

"The plan where I hook up with some sexy maid ghost who yearns for a living sexy man~"

"..."

The group had gone up to the front porch of which floor wood-boards screeched in protest of the extra overbearing weight it now bore. Touda pressed a small rectangular button and the sound of bell rang resoundingly clear from the inside.

Rin frowned, "I thought the woods is currently off-limit?"

"There's one person who insists on staying despite the direct order from the principal. He's an expert horticulturist, Ikiyama Yuda", a male teen in front of him suddenly answered.

Rin cocked an eyebrow at the intervention but replied nonetheless, "Really? That's kinda not smart, going against the principal"

"Apparently he's a senior teacher and famous for his obstinacy. So I guess the school just let him go on a strict condition to not venture out into the woods after the sun goes down"

"Hope he really abides to that.."

Rin seized the opportunity to take a good look at his conversing partner. He stood approximately at the same height as him and appeared to have wild mane-like hair that had been subdued properly. He looked like your average run-of-the-mill guy except for his shrewd hazel eyes and amiable smile.

The teen offered a polite hand, "The name's Uno Atsushi by the way"

"Okumura Rin"

Atsushi nodded in contemplation, "Hm hm Rin-kun ka? Well, it's very nice meeting ya, the famous half-demon with blue flame. I heard you can set your whole body in fire without being burned in any way?"

Rin chuckled, "Well yeah. Sounds kinda freaky?"

The teen gave him double thumbs-up and a wide grin that nearly splitted his face in half, "Hell yes! That's some freaking cool, erm I mean, hot ability you have there mate!"

Rin felt that he liked this teen already, he was one among the sparse bunch that didn't automatically categorize him as a contemptful demon. Moreover, his entire manner of speech made him felt at ease of not being judged unlike other exorcists.

Then came the scene where Touda-san forcefully knocked the wooden door impatiently, "Ikiyama-san! Open the door!" But there was no sound of pitter-patter of feet coming running for the door or any other that could indicate the presence of someone inside the building.

Yukio finally went forward to Touda and they engaged in a hushed conversation.

Atsushi leaned in to whisper near Rin's ear, "Oh my, it seems the situation has taken a rather worrying course"

Rin whispered back, "I just hope the old jiji's smart enough to remain in one piece"

Touda finally faced the mini crowd, "Listen! It seems like Ikiyama-san is either not in the premise or incapable of opening the door. Either way, we have to thoroughly check the building"

Yukio pulled out a set of different-sized keys inside his breast pocket and skimmed through them for a proper one. He then wordlessly inserted the selected one to the lock and a click was heard. The young teacher opened the door and the whole group went inside.

.-.

"Rin-kun, I'm going to the second floor alright?", Atsushi called out at the foot of the staircase.

Rin's hand was on one of the many rooms' door-knob and he paused briefly to answer, " 'K, good luck. Be sure to tell me if ya find something!"

Atsushi flashed a cheeky grin, "Ya too!". The ever-cheerful boy left to his second destination after giving a polite nod to the young bespectacled teacher at Rin's side.

The floor returned to its silence after Atsushi left, both brothers wordlessly slipped inside the room and began inspecting through every article which could possibly hide a human-sized body.

Yukio opened the closet, "Seems like you've made friend with Uno-san rather well eh niisan?"

Rin made an affirmative sound as he knelt down to inspect the bed's underside, "He's an okay guy, and looks pretty honest too. I still don't trust him though, the idea of an exorcist accepting me that easily leaves quite an itch after all"

Yukio frowned. Despite his detestation of Rin's way of demeaning his own self-worth regarding his demonic part, he couldn't exactly deny the truth that was rolling along the exorcist' echelons.

"Okumura-san!", Noel's voice which echoed suddenly from a surely higher floor caught the attention of the young teacher, "Touda-san asks you to come up to the third floor!"

Yukio seemed a little troubled, "Touda-san?", his green eyes subconsciously flicked towards his brother.

Rin gave a gentle shoo-like motion, a reassuring smile lit up his face as if to douse the conflict that seemed to brew in his twin's mind, "Go up ahead, I still want to check around this floor a lil more"

"But you'll be alone.."

"Don't worry, I can handle a bit of lonely time just fine. It's like you say right? No ghost or any other supernatural creature is here", Rin flashed a confident smile.

Although visibly hesitant, Yukio gave a little nod and a whisper of 'be careful' to his brother. Then with no time, it was Rin alone that remained in the vacant floor.

The research premise was indubitably humongous and excessively so considering it served only one purpose from a branch of a major. Hallways and numerous rooms littered all over the space that it seemed as if the architect purposefully intended to confuse the occupants, and making a half-demon frustrated beyond belief. He had stalked around and discovered more and more yet uninspected ground, thankfully with his more than decent navigation skill, he managed to do just fine, like he claimed, and avoided getting pitifully lost in an indoor compound.

After much wandering, he led himself to a narrow alleyway which end appeared to be a mere dead-end. Instead, he found a mini-sized inconspicuous door shrouded dimly with lacking illumination.

_'Hm, looks too fishy to be a simple store-room'_ He decided to approach the door and pushed down the rusty handle.

Surprisingly, it wasn't barricaded with some prohibiting lock and swung open welcomingly for him. Contrary to what he expected to be a storeroom, it turned out to be a basement passage with cemented stairs stretched down to the maw of darkness below.

_'Wow, this really starts to get creepy'_ Instead of defecting fear, the particular emotion that wound its way in him was anticipating excitement. Without hesitation, he proceeded down. The journey only took a while for him to arrive to what he assumed to be basement. The light donated from the first floor had succumbed completely in the encompassing darkness which certainly would inhibit the eyes belonging to humans.

Since Rin wasn't exactly one, his eyes eluded the possibility of visual incapacitation rather well and adapted remarkably with minimal light to enable him to view his surroundings.

It was a storeroom without a doubt, with rows of metal-barred shelves arranged in an orderly manner filled with transparent jars. The teen ran his hand through the jars, his eyes gliding over the labels plastered on each round lid. The content appeared to be a myriad of sprouts suspended in crystalline heavy-water, truly the house of obsessed plant-worshippers. In the innermost end, streams of bluish luminescent light filtered through broken-glass of narrow windows.

Ah, that's what assisted him to see.

A flurry of movements generating the subtlest sounds, a shift in the damp air, a warning tone playing whenever his most vulnerable appendage was exposed to an intended attack had Rin spun fluidly with an instinctive evasion of an intruding hand which graced his personal space rather irritatingly.

"Hey watch it!", Rin barked at the figure, his body was bent in a half-crouch defensive posture, "How can ya fucking attack a teammate like that!"

The young woman had the nerve to smile in her version of innocence which contrasted profoundly with her appearance which must have breached numerous etiquette norms of an exorcist-in-duty. Her designated exorcist uniform had several of the upper buttons undone to reveal a teasing amount of cleavage, and the lower part was completely replaced with matching hot pants and dark stockings. She had an enviable lovely face but preferred to apply dark make-up on it and went for a sexy-look instead. Other than the most conspicuous feature, she wore a glittering nose piercing, had messy-styled clipped-up hair, and heel boots that didn't look very supportive in maintaining her balance during combat.

Rin frowned after his eyes finished down to her toe._ 'Let's see.. She must be the other woman besides that ginger-head, is she here to act all high and mighty to me or sumthin?'_

"Oh pardon me, I didn't mean to alarm you like so, I was merely enthralled with the sight of your intriguing behind", the lady apologized without sincerity in a smooth sexy undertone.

_'Ck, what is it with people and my tail? Why can't they just leave it alone!'_ "Thank you, but I allow absolutely no one to touch it", Rin said in a hardened tone. He stepped forward, intending to slip past the female and get the hell away from her when an obtrusive sheathed sword stretched across his path, blocking him.

Rin leered down at the woman's cat-like green eyes which shone mischievously.

"What do you want?", Rin snapped rudely.

"Nothing, just a chance to converse with the famed half-demon prince of Gehenna, can't I just have that little chance?"

"Sorry, you're rather unqualified for a space in my schedule"

"Please reconsider", the woman approached closer to the half-demon in a suggestive manner. She touched his forearm in a slow feathery motion, "Ah forgive my rudeness, I am Uno Yariko. It is a pleasure indeed meeting a unique individual such as you", her palm stroked upwards and cupped his cheek, her eyes gazed scrutinizingly at the half-demon's facial feature, "Looking closer, you are also a fine specimen of man, absolutely my type", she purred salaciously as her eyelids drooped low casting her gaze playful in a quite indecent purpose.

Rin's gaze was nothing the sort of an enraptured man, instead, it radiated pure dislike, "You're starting to irritate me, just tell me what you want and get it over with"

Yariko adopted an expression of mock hurt as she sagged more of her independent posture to lean on Rin, "You wound me. My true intent is not far off from what I've said. I am curious about you, the only known half-demon conceived from the seed of the King of Gehenna, moreover with such background managed to climb your way up to be a licensed exorcist, you're also the little brother of the versatile and capable Okumura Yukio. All of those.. deliciously wrapped in a very alluring package of high-grade virility. My fascination of you, Rin-kun, has derived to an unimaginable..", she stroked his chest, and marveled at the hardness of adequate muscle adorning it, "..truly unimaginable level"

Rin made a move to edge away but since the shelf was on his back, Yariko had no problem in further trapping the young Okumura with her hour-glass figure, "Yukio's my little brother, not the other way around. And look here missy, we're in a mission so stop this fucking act and your annoying sweet-talks. Move outta my way", Rin stated in a level tone but the warning hint laced in his voice couldn't go unnoticed. He'd never met a woman who accosted him in such touchy-feely manner like this, so he didn't exactly know how to wave her off without resorting to violence.

Yariko pouted, jutting her lower lip which was painted seductive red to an inviting savory shape. Ever so slowly, she rubbed her body down the hard-plane of the stiff half-demon's body as to further accentuate the curve of her generous bosoms in full explicit display, "Playing hard to get aren't we?", her voice was honey and her gaze shone in wanton eagerness, "Don't worry Rin-kun, we're all alone here in this most secluded part of the house. I've never done it with a demon before but if it's with a handsome guy like you, I would be more than happy to. So how about it?", her fingers traced sinfully slow against Rin's cheek down to his collarbone, her gaze adopting lust with frontal boldness.

Rin stayed still, his stare was cold and never once did it stray to admire the perfect tits the woman expertly displayed. Yariko paused her ministration, detecting the passiveness and a lack of mandatory reaction. While his face was steeled, his sapphire eyes bore through hers like untamable strike of lightning, in the icy blueness of an ocean hints of desire was not even present in minuscule amount. Instead, the stillness of his gaze contagiously abated the ripples of confidence generating from her normally domineering heart.

_Move.._

Abiding by her instinct, Yariko found it in her best interest to back away.

Rin, finally unrestrained without having to lift a single finger, wordlessly walked past the still woman. Yariko saw as the back of the half-demon disappeared above. Finally the figurative choking bind eased as a feeling of relief washed over her.

Yariko frowned, it was the first time she felt this way towards a demon. No matter how gruesome and lethal, they never made her succumb to such level of shameful fear. Moreover, his outward appearance suggested nothing demonic, except his tail, which rather than a weapon, looked more like a cute additional decoration.

_This man..._ She griped the material covering her front, now the part tingled with unwelcomed shudder from previous physical connection with the half-demon... _is dangerous.._

A smile slowly quirked the edge of her full lips.

_Interesting.._

_.-._

"What the hell's wrong with that bitch", Rin stomped out of the basement and accordingly trudged away from the place that brought such bad memory, "How can the higher-ups admitted her to be an exorcist? She's worse than me in terms of responsibility! Asking for that sort of thing in a fucking basement! You must be kidding me.."

He ranted some more, trains of criticizing comments poured out from his lips. She ran on a parade of ostentations so much that it genuinely repulsed him, period.

**"Such a waste.."**

"A waste? Yeah, a fucking waste of time", Rin sneered, but instantly his face lost the tenseness it once carried, "Anyway, I think we're finished in this floor. Let's go find Yukio", the teen wandered off once more to find a staircase.

Shiki sighed, **"What is it you see in him..?"**

"Hm? You're saying sumthin'?"

**"...nothing"**

Soon, he found the entire squad at the foot of the staircase, a quiet grim atmosphere hang about them. Atsushi was whispering to the ginger-head girl in a discreet manner considering Yukio and Touda were engaged in a what he thought to be a discussion about the next move. Noel was just standing at the side, listening quietly at the leaders' conversation. Ikiyama Yuda was nowhere in sight.

Rin fastened his pace towards the group.

"So, you guys didn't find Ikiyama-san?", Rin asked Noel, he found it proper to ask the only one who wasn't in a conversation. Apparently, his appearance didn't go unnoticed.

Before Noel was able to answer, Touda intercepted rather coldly, "Okumura, what have you been doing?"

The reprimanding tone lacing the question hooked Rin's quick temper, but he impressively held his at-the-tip-of-tongue rude comeback, "I've been checking the first floor and the basement, unfortunately I couldn't find Ikiyama-san", he managed to answer without sounding rude.

Touda was silent, but his eyes seemed like he had several things to say.

Thankfully, Yukio swiftly swooped into the halted conversation, "We found that Ikiyama-san's phone and duffel bag are not in his personal chamber in the third floor, so it is plausible to say that he, for some reason, has left the research building willingly"

_'Ck asshole'_, Rin felt the urge to pummel the guy for behaving out of the strict law and giving them trouble, _'I really wanna give him a piece of my fist'_

_.-._

Mai felt the shuddering rush of adrenaline washed past through her chilled veins, the previous grandiose forest seemed unsuspecting, dead, uninhabited, yet it was merely a faux. At the heat of the moment, the silence was confounded with darting agile figures weaving un-figurative patterns unperceived to their understanding with the darkness as a loyal ally to the demons.

Her braids were in disarray, a green rubber band was lost forever in the densely-packed woods rustling with the ill-mannered creatures it hosted. The lanterns, the source of security in the cunning darkness, was no longer alive in the possession of the leaders being predictably easy to knock out and all.

They had just left the vacant research building in a new-appointed mission of searching for a missing person. Everything was normal, none was out of place, yet it quickly debilitated like the might of a corrupting disease. Starting with gradual levitation of malicious demonic energy, then the rustles generated in random trees, finally the attack.

They matched with nothing in the book. Lithe body with out-of-proportion length covered with ebony scales, yellow wild eyes attached to skinny head with a mob of unruly hair, and lastly bat-like wings which enabled them swift flight. And they were highly compact killing machines in a flock.

Since they were of an unknown species, the slaying procedure was the basic one in hope the creatures' weaknesses would be revealed later during combat. Since they were of an unknown species, Atsushi didn't hesitate to shower them with a holy water bomb. Unfortunately it turned out to be a terribly wrong move. The demons shrieked and convulsed in mid air, before exploding in a rain of guts with an unforeseen addition of strong wind which propelled them away from the battle formation.

The situation had taken the worst turn.

Mai landed in a nearby bush with an 'oomph' thankfully without sporting any collateral damage on her body. She automatically realized the need to hide as she swiftly slipped into the bush, the reflex to scream when a bloody piece of organ was found splattered on her exorcist coat was quenched in time. She was separated from her teammates. And the one who was previously near her was blasted in the exact same location as her, unfortunately the one whom she was wary of the most.

_Okumura Rin_. Half-demon, son of Satan.

Crouching beneath the stiff crowding branches on all fours with alert sapphire eyes darting like a wild predator was the half-demon teen, even deceptively dressed in plain human outfit contrary to his true heritage. The vicinity was infested with buzzing activity, surely from wings slicing air, still visual clarity was not a supporting value she could enjoy so darting shadows were all her strained eyes could see.

"O-Okumura-kun", with trembling lips Mai managed to whisper. After all, in her anxiousness she wanted to know what was his assessment in the clearly disadvantageous situation.

Rin immediately responded, "It is... Yamada Mai right?"

Hearing her name from his lips shocked her, then she realized he probably knew from when Touda-san mention them before entering the forest, "Yes?"

"What's your rank?"

"Lower First Class"

A brief silence ensued. "What's your Meister?"

"I'm a Doctor, learning to be an Aria as well, but I'm still a beginner"

"Aria.. But since these demons are unknown, you can't really be sure what's its fatal verse right?"

"Yeah, I think so"

His tufty tail coiled round his thigh, probably a sign of vexation or thinking but since his demeanor didn't change, Mai couldn't be too sure.

"Um, how about you?"

"Lower First Class. Knight", he said simply.

Clearly, she wasn't a combat-type, so naturally she was a little relieved at having one near her. But the sword was still sheathed and also tightly bound in red garb.

"Ar-aren't you gonna.. pull your sword out?"

He leered at her for a while, "It's really not a good idea, considering it'll.. produce bright light that'll attract the demons. Since they are still unaware of our positions, I guess their sense of smell and hearing aren't that great"

**"Night-sight, speed, coordination, they are also good with fighting in group"**

_'I know that'_

Rin mulled over his situation. The forest was dark and quite quiet, no battle was going on, so it meant the other exorcists probably noticed the demons' weaknesses as well and chose to hide. Yamada wasn't a high ranking exorcist and her meister didn't accommodate her with adequate slaying skills so it was solely on his obligation to keep her safe. Truthfully, he was itching to appear out in the open and take on the demons with Kurikara, but hesitated in case the exorcists reacted negatively to his exposed satanic flame. Missions he had were always done with his exorcist friends who knew his fire well after all. For now, it was definitely best to reunite first with the others, although a little part of him longed for an awesome solo partake in ridding the world of detestable pests flying restlessly like nasty flies.

Rin started crawling, firm limbs pushed his body forward fluidly as he gestured Mai to do the same.

Mai obliged still she enquired confusedly, "Where are you going?"

"To get closer to the others of course. Keep low"

Mai was really confused now. It was taxing to even perceive several metres ahead yet he worded his sentence as if he had pinpointed others' locations clearly.

"Huh?"

"They're over there, by that giant tree" With wide branches dipping low, the place provided nice, umbriferous cover even in the midst of darkness from the demons which relied heavily on their sense of sight.

_He probably had_, she confirmed in amazement and hazel eyes stared at his retreating back in wonder at the display of a clearly superior inhuman trait.

Rin positioned himself in front of her to guide her through the maze of the obstructive bushes, "Hey, stay away from my tail got it?", he warned as the half-demon resumed crawling across the twig-covered ground. The flexible tail seemed to swing by her face temptingly but thankfully her common sense chose to refrain from igniting the enigma-like boy's anger. After like forever painstakingly keeping out of sight by advancing baby-style towards the nearest bunch near the massive trunk, Rin sneaked out and softly laid his head on a tough back.

The owner of the said back in reflex jerked and turned, well tried, since strong arms had slithered around and kept his torso immobile.

Bewildered green eyes fell upon amused blue ones, "Niisan?!"

From his low view point, Rin smirked, "Hi bro, how's the tour so far?"

Yukio lightly squeezed the arms encircling him, confirming the warmth, and relief washed over him at seeing his twin was safe and sound, "You're okay...", gently he pried himself off the arms.

Rin looked a little offended, "Of course! You think a little blast's enough to send me crying SOS and waving off white flags? Ha! Think again!"

Despite the grave situation, a soft chuckle still slipped out Yukio's lips. He strapped up his professional mode again and addressed the temporarily forgotten girl, "Are you okay Yamada?"

Mai gave a timid nod, "Yes Okumura-san", with an equally timid voice.

"Aren't you going to enquire my well-being, handsome?", liquid-feminine voice called out with an air of imperiousness, causing Rin's countenance to instantly adopt pure displeasure.

"Like I give a rat's ass", he snarkily remarked, inwardly cursing his bad luck at being reunited with such an infuriating woman. Uno Yariko stared at him in fake hurt.

"Ouch, such coldness to a lady"

Rin chose to ignore her as he turned towards his twin, "Where are Touda-san, Hariyama, and Atsushi?"

Yukio scanned his surrounding past the veil-like hanging leaves, not that such action assisted much, "I don't know. I can't even see the demons well in this darkness..."

Rin's eyebrows rose in genuine surprise, "Waddya mean you can't? It's pretty dark sure, but still bright enough to keep track on those little fuckers"

For the second time that day, people, in this case the girls, looked at him as if he had grown a second tail.

Yukio gazed at his brother in wonder, "It seems your demon blood enhances your night-vision.. Since none of us could see well, how about you.. light your fire?", he suggested, keeping attentive eyes to catch on his twin's reaction.

Rin paled slightly, leaning near to his brother to whisper in his ear, "You sure? Because they're probably not as acceptive as our friends you know. Aren't you like... in charge of keeping my demonic power in check?"

_Won't you feel like neglecting your perception of duty?_

Yukio seemed taken aback at the hesitance lacing his twin's words, and the slight sadness underneath it. He was taken back to Rin's first day in True Cross when he declared himself to be Rin's personal, in a simple word, warden. Now he realized that his sentence probably implied that he deemed his brother as if he was a dangerous animal that needed constant supervision and kept essentially fettered in case he ran 'rampant'. The thought bothered his heart, greatly bothered his heart.

Yukio's eyes set ablazed with zealousness. They firmly connected with his twin, "Listen nii-san, I want you to-" the rest of the words were whispered upon Rin's private ears.

Rin blanched, "Ha?! Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I heard you say-"

"Yes", Yukio interjected, "It is as you heard"

"...can't you carry it on a twig or something?"

"It'll hinder my movements, being a Dragoon requires absolute liberation of limbs to muster accurate aim"

"I'll fight alone then"

"There are too many of them, you know you can't win alone"

"Just make do with the fire on my body"

"Due to our different positions, it can be inconsistent and disadvantage me with blind spots"

"No _fucking_ way"

"It is the _only_ way"

"But", Rin's gaze radiated concern, and its meaning hit on Yukio's understanding all too well, "what if you got... hurt?"

Yukio was silent for several seconds, his eyes reflected a myriad of emotions but doubt was not one of them, "I won't get hurt", his voice was tender and soothed Rin's worry like a mother's hand, "I can trust you, I will trust you"

For the last time, Rin stared hard, trying to seek even any meager amount of fear in the pools of emerald. Found none, his shoulders slumped in defeat, "If you say so.."

Yariko and Mai alternately looked at both brothers, but failed to accumulate some ounce of proper understanding of the twins' conversation. Being the more outspoken of the two, Yariko questioned, "What? What's the plan?"

Yukio looked at the dark-haired woman, "Uno-san, your part is to guard Yamada and make sure you two remain hidden"

Yariko's expression transformed to one of incensement as she felt the sentence stabbed like a thorn to her pride, "Nonsense! I will not stand by an-"

"Uno-san!", Yukio snapped. Yariko was totally startled at seeing the gentle Okumura-sensei was capable of utilizing such a chilling glare, "This is an order", his eyes dared her to retaliate.

But of course, she dared not to. With a gulp, Yariko held her down in submission, "As you wish" _This pair of brothers, contrary to their harmless impressions, were really not one to be messed with..._

Yukio turned back to Rin, "Let us be off", he fell down, elegantly, on his hands and knees and crawled out the safety of the branches.

Rin sweatdropped, "Haha, you really are amazing, in a weird way", he mumbled half-heartedly then followed his brother's track.

It was not long before both girls lost sight of the brothers, engulfed in obscurity orchestrated by the woods affiliated by resounding wrothful shrieks. Truly frightening. Several minutes had agonizingly passed by.

Mai hugged her knees, "U-Uno-san, what do you think is going on now?"

Persisted with all her might, her visual organ still failed to provide her any lucid images, "How do you expect me to know any better than you?", Yariko answered in a testy tone.

Constant sound, constant scene, heart filled with trepidation, it made her queasy and uneasy, Mai concluded. The silence in the company was eating at her, moreover, she was worried about how the brothers fared in the leeching darkness.

Suddenly, it was not so dark anymore, an unknown light sifted through the foliage of branches of their hiding place like the warm embrace of salvation for their starving eyes. Pumped with heightening curiosity, despite the danger, Yariko carefully spreaded the hindering branches for a good look at the source.

Mai covered her mouth with quivering fingers and Yariko's mouth hang open in fascination.

"Oh my...", the voluptuous woman whispered in delight, "so it's true"

Far away, in the nest of darkness, standing like a beacon of mesmerizing sapphire was a teen with fantasy-like elf ears and tail, his lean frame wholly engulfed in live flame like a surreal painting that had taken life before them. In front of him, his brother, Okumura Yukio stood, his eyes connected with his twin's in silence. The creatures screeched harder, seemingly distressed at the display of THE harrowing flame, their master's most prized weapon. The brothers seemed unconcerned. Both lifted their hands, the tip of their fingers erecting, reaching.

Mai gasped, "Wa-wait, Okumura-san will-!"

"Ah so that's the plan", Yariko mused, eager to see such rare spectacle unfolding in front of her hungry eyes.

_"Nii-san, I want to you to set me up in your flame"_

The thin digits connected, spreading across long sleeves at an alarming rate.. and the fiery element didn't hesitate to envelop the offering with its powerful blaze.

A sliver of discomfort washed over Yukio's expression before it steeled to wright nullity. A wayward creature swerved out its formation towards the still teacher but the flame scorched its wings as it shrieked in pain and fell to his death. Everything seemed to slow down before both brothers sprang to motion.

Twin knobs of blue flares seating among thick strands of unruly black swiveled and flickered as the proudly unsheathed demon sword sliced up the heinous creatures fluidly. Jagged pupils flicked about in a feral manner as to target what were next to be slain, it was with crude accuracy but it was sufficient in taking down large number of demons flying about haphazardly.

His brother, however, took a more fastidious approach. With assistance of the light from the blue flame, his eyes scrupulously pinpoint every target before his deft fingers pressed down the triggers of his twin guns. Even when such method took down the adversary in one by one principal, due to his repetitive triumphs, countless carcasses fell lifelessly around him like rain of death.

The sight really rendered them speechless, among tall trees at the dead of the night, twin figures clad with blue flame fabricated off from the wildest imaginations took on a staggeringly real appearance in front of them. Slaying demons, experts in flight, with beautiful polished moves, some of them were even combusted savagely like moths in flame.

At last the last creature's shriek died, gone from life for good. The brothers panted in exhaustion but proud smiles were seated in their lips.

Rin quickly trotted closer to his brother, a victorious smile on his face, "We _(pant)_ did it! We fucking whacked off those creatures pansy flying asses!"

"Ye-yeah we did it", Yukio answered in a more subtle manner, "Congratulations to both of us"

Rin beamed and was reaching out to put out the fire before a lashing voice pierced their moment of celebratory exuberance.

"What atrocity in the name of heaven have you subjected your brother, Okumura?!"

The twins blinked and faced the source in mild surprise.

Touda was standing imposingly before them with such acidic eyes directed at the older Okumura. Behind him, there were Atsushi and Noel, each sporting a different expression. Noel, as always, had an indifferent look as if the whole ordeal didn't pique his slightest interest. While a rather battered Atsushi had eyes which were shining with pure reverence at them, a trail of coagulated blood was at one side of his face probably because he was the one standing closest to where he threw the holy-water bomb.

Rin managed to control his facial muscle from contorting to express what he really felt towards the old exorcist, and through gritted teeth forced out, "I was just about to put out the 'atrocity', Touda-san"

He ran his hand about Yukio's chest and the fire died down almost instantly. Then he sheathed Kurikara, his demonic flame and appearance disappeared accordingly, shrouding the area with darkness once again.

Touda was silent, he rummaged his trench coat and pulled out another mini-lantern available at his disposal. He lit it up and warm golden light illuminated the seven people standing in a crude circle.

Rin frowned, _'The heck? He still has another damn lantern but didn't bother to give any of us one?'_

Now in the proper light, the acrimony in Touda's eyes were tangible in the night air, and drilled straight to Rin, "How dare you use your flame at Okumura-sensei? He could have been scorched to death!"

Rin inwardly flinched and words of solemn apology were at the tip of his tongue when Yukio stepped forward, shielding his brother from immediate exposure of Touda's judging eyes. With controlled repose, he said, "I deeply apologize, Rin was not at fault here, he just acted according to my orders... including lighting me up in his fire"

When such information reached the group's ears, the majority of them had disbelief and horror brewing in their eyes.

Touda's expression hardened even more, "And why, pray tell, could you surmise to such reckless decision which could profoundly endanger your life? Is this the creation of your acclaimed prudence young Okumura-sensei?"

"Although it is not the most scrupulous in nature, I believe it is the best course of action at that moment. In the darkness, I couldn't utilize my best ability as a Dragoon but with proper lighting, that shortcoming could easily be eliminated"

"Proper lighting? It is THE Satan's flame, the most nefarious of its kind, such condemned element should be eluded by humans at any cost, let alone letting it touch your skin! As an exorcist, you should be aware of it!", his voice was practically dripping with unparalleled hatred and repulsion in his sage eyes. Undeniably, his loathing wasn't baseless, it was caused from a grief-stricken experience occurring 16 years ago in the Blue Night that even such a reclusive individual could utter those heavily emotional words.

"It is an **abomination**", he added, spitting out the last word like it was rotten.

Yukio's gaze didn't falter as he was deluged by the full brunt of the accusatory remarks. He was fine, as long as none of it, even as much as a drip, fell on Rin's tiny frame. He drew his brother closer to his back, "My brother's flame...", his tone was drenched with calm audacity, with absolute certainty stitched to every word "...is not an _abomination_"

Rin's eyes widened,_ 'What? Before he was so against provoking the old-fart, now not only he is currently doing that, he also uses that kind of tone?'_ Frankly, he didn't like being protected behind someone's back like some weak damsel-in-distress, but with Yukio, it was actually a nice break. _And the words he said.._

The flaring green eyes and defensive posture which indicated physical protection of the half-demon disconcerted Touda greatly, although he didn't show it. It wasn't in the conforming nature of the young teacher to attempt such daring attitude, from his demeanor, it was clear that Yukio indirectly implied that if he or any other attempted to approach the half-demon in negative intention, they had to face him first. Emerald eyes drilled austerely to each of them, it was a silent warning, addressed to all of them.

Noel, Atsushi, Mai, and even Yariko dropped their gazes.

Touda, however, didn't break eye-contact.

"Okumura-sensei", the whole group tensed, fearing that the verbal war was about to escalate, "We've found Ikiyama Yuda, please follow me"

He turned back and started striding to the other direction. The four exorcists released their held breaths and wordlessly followed the man.

Yukio's tensed form subsided as he released his grip at Rin. He looked down at his twin with a warm smile, "Come on nii-san"

Rin blinked and nodded awkwardly, "U-un"

.-.

The haphazard figure was nestled among inconspicuous thickets, with rotting stench permeating and corrupting the humid night-air.

"He was dead for at least a day", Touda stated, a handkerchief was pressed down his nose to diminish the offensive odor, "Judging from the quality of the damage, it was evidently a demon's doing"

Mai's had a visibly green face and a reverted gaze, Yariko only paled slightly, Atsushi supported a disgruntled expression, and Noel had a flat unperturbed countenance. Even if the world erupted in massive chaos, there's a good chance the teen would remain unresponsive.

Rin's keen nose didn't appreciate the putrid stench at all, although he was curious, he preferred to stay away.

Yukio went a bit closer. Whatever the perpetrator was, its cruel work was imminent at the state of the carcass. The most gruesome and the only sliced up part was the stomach, intestines and other guts-parts were sprawled out messily in the bloody and sickening handicraft of the demon. It was quite meticulous, despite the revolting torn-up stomach, the other parts remain intact with no slightest scratch on the skin.

Now that he was almost hovering above the body, his eyes caught on to some shiny objects littering around the still form. He bent down to retrieve one, frowning as he inspected it.

_'Silver.. disk?'_ Many of the thin and tiny circular objects were splayed around the corpse, as if they were deliberately placed there by someone.

"What is it?", Touda came near.

"I don't know, there are many of these around Ikiyama-san's body" It was definitely a message, but still, from such vague depiction it was hard to figure anything out of it.

"Hm, strange...", Touda murmured and glanced at his watch, "It's late, let us leave here and call for assistance to retrieve the body first thing in the morning"

They made their way back to the research building. Touda inserted the special transportation key connecting straight towards the exorcists' temporary residence. All of them went inside, all but two.

"Rin-kun? Okumura-sensei?", Atsushi called out, seeing that both brothers were still rooted to their positions, "Are you guys coming?"

Yukio smiled subtly, "No, our living quarter is at a different place. So we'll be using a different key"

"Oh, okay then", then he turned a foxy smile towards Rin and gestured him two thumbs-up, "Stay awesome dude"

Rin cocked an eyebrow but waved him goodbye nonetheless.

"Ok-Okumura-kun", Mai squeaked timidly with half of her body hidden behind Yariko.

"Yeah?"

The ginger-haired girl blushed and in a higher-pitch tone than she intended forced out, "Ar-Arigato!", then dashed off and vanished into the door.

Rin sweatdropped, "Haha, I dunno what you're thanking me for but you're welcome anyway"

Yariko crossed her arms beneath her ample bust and smirked, "Next time, I will definitely get a good squeeze of your tail, handsome"

Rin scoffed, "Sorry, no first time, next time, nor last time tickets of feeling my tail up are available for anyone, miss elephant-racks"

"Even in exchange of feeling up my 'elephant racks'?"

"Keep dreaming"

Yariko's smirk grew and she sashayed away, but not before uttering some final words, "Till next time, demon-boy", her voice dipped into blatant seductiveness.

Noel stared at Rin with level eyes for a while then bent his waist in a polite bow, before disappearing behind the closing door.

Now that it had closed, Yukio went forward to insert their own specific key but Rin stopped him with an arm. Yukio gave him a questioning look.

"Come on now lazy-prince, what's the health-chart of always going home through some 'Anywhere Door'? Maybe that's why Doraemon piled up that much fat", Rin boo'ed earnestly for extra measure.

Yukio stared at him with his professional version of 'are ya serious' look in his face.

Rin rolled his eyes and tugged at his giant of a little brother's sleeves, and without much difficulty dragged the reluctant teen away from the porch.

"Wa-wait, where are we going?"

"Deeper, it's a waste to go out the woods anyway 'coz our apartment is near the cliff beside the Eastern forest. It's better to go inside till the cliff and go along it isn't it?", Rin reasoned, and it made sense actually. The Southern Woods is located at the edge of a cliff bordering at the low-land town and extending deep into the True Cross territory. So to exit the woods and skirted its outer area to get to their apartment was rather too punishing-on-the-legs for two tired individuals. Well, made that one, considering how hyped-up Rin was pulling at him probably he still had ample stamina in his reserves to bobble about.

The area was still agitatingly barren of light, with the pace they were going, Yukio was worried he might trip or run to some branches. But Rin's gait was so sure, leading his legs to flat area and even parted any obstructing branches in his path.

At last, the little walk reached an end as the twins reached the end of the cliff. The impervious canopy dispersed to nothingness and the star-filled expanse of the stunning sky unrolled before their eyes. Below the jutting line of the cliff where a vibrant town resided, thousands of similar stars spilled forth their kaleidoscopic glitz, befitting to be called the parallel entities of the celestial ones up above. Stroking their skins was the refreshing night-breeze which was initially blockaded by the crowding trees.

Rin inhaled a full breathe of the calming air as twinkling eyes appraised the breath-taking view before them. He trotted right up to the edge and stretched off his arms eagerly, "Wooo~ What a sight to behold eh Yukio?"

Just steps behind his elder brother, Yukio scanned the scenic picture and found himself agreeing fully with him, "Yeah..", he breathed, mesmerized, "I can't believe we have this kind of panoramic view in the school area.."

Rin chuckled quietly and looked at him above his shoulders, "Now this is exactly what you've missed, for always being cooped up inside a rectangular room in an equally rectangular desk"

"You've been here before?"

"Yeah, it's easy to sneak in even though you aren't a Science university student 'cause the security is just laughable", Rin confessed sheepishly. He directed his gaze back front, uncharacteristic halcyon eyes were lost in wandering the enigmatic sky, "I go here if I've had things to think about... 'cos it's quiet. People rarely wander this far off, let alone at night"

Yukio was surprised at hearing the little piece of information, but strangely happy. Probably because his twin felt it's ok to share his special place with him, "What kind of things?"

He released a little laugh, it curiously sounded distant in his ears, "Nowadays, there are lots...", the half-demon sat down with his knees drawn close.

Yukio waited, thinking he was about to say more, but apparently it was left at there. His eyes turned solemn, when he thought about it, his brother had gone through a lot this past two years. Starting from the release of his demon-side, things had just went absolutely downhill for Rin, giving him countless nerve-wrecking trials as if the whole universe was working together to play the absolute-bitch-role to him. They couldn't see, behind the half-demon aspect, inside, he was still a seventeen-year-old human who yearned for acceptance and a sense of belonging. Unfortunately it was a non-existent right that could never belong to him.

Yukio's lips were parted, but Rin beat him to it, with an almost inaudible voice, "Did you.. really mean it? Back there?"

The normally boisterous voice was laced with uncertainty, buoyed with tethering fear.

"Of course", he stated firmly, without doubt.

"Even when...", his voice took on a sorrowful quality, "that fire was the same one which took our father's life?"

The question struck at him like a painful arrow through his guts. It shocked him to quite a degree as a certain revelation dawned upon him now. Was his brother's insecurity trailed back that far into the past? Was he carrying that kind of self-blaming burden, all along, alone? Buried deep beneath his cheerful exterior, how much more of his pain that I was unaware of?

Numerous words were strung in his throat like an abrupt flood, numerous, numerous, and numerous. Yet, he knew mere spoken words were next to ineffective of soothing his brother's tormenting worries which had been ingrained in him like persistent tumor. He needed something stronger.

With hesitant steps, Yukio brought himself closer to his brother, closer to that back which appeared to carry so much misery he didn't deserve. He sat next to him, a little behind him. With equally hesitant fingers, the digits wrapped upon a still appendage with the softest fur that had graced upon the skin of a not-animal-person like him.

Rin tensed as his sensory nerves tingled in warning, but soon went relaxed under the touch of his brother. Yukio felt a little happy when his brother didn't comment negatively on his daring approach contrary to his previous claim of never letting anyone feeling up his tail. He was an exception, it seemed.

The tail, it was the physical manifestation and obvious symbol of his frowned-upon status that became the root of all his afflictions. The very first thing that warped up people's attitudes towards an ordinary adolescent sporting a goofy yet caring smile to ugly unfeeling criticisms. The addition that was deep-inside probably despised by its own owner.

He brought such appendage, which despite its beauty carried so much misfortunes, to his lips, and placed a chaste kiss to its glistening black fur. With gentle hands, Yukio placed his brother's tail on his lap and stroked it lovingly like it was worth all the fortune ever known to man. He folded his fingers, all but one, filling up all of his feelings in that one unit and brought it to the surface of Rin's still tail.

Scritch, scritch, scritch. The deft digit danced fluidly on the thin obsidian canvas, curving up brushing down, arching left swerving right, engraving the precious far-reaching feeling of love a human was able to exercise in the fullest extent at the scorned length.

With each stroke, Rin's eyes took on the glint of disbelief, seemingly surprised at the act of sentimental affection endowed to him.

When it finished, Rin had eyes flourishing with heart-felt felicity directed at his twin's soft emerald ones.

"Thank you...", he whispered, putting his whole feeling to that simple phrase.

Yukio nodded, a smile graced his lips. He knew he wouldn't break his promise and would stand by it for eternity.

_When everything is against you, I will always be by your side... I will not abandon you... I will support you with everything I have... I will be your strength... No matter what you are, no matter what you do, no matter how you become, I will always love you..._

For a moment, everything fell to comfortable silence with both brothers soaking in the heart-warming atmosphere. But Rin stood up suddenly and walked further away from his twin.

"Nii-san?", Yukio tried to decipher the conflicted face his brother suddenly had.

"Yukio...", Rin began, hesitance seemed to be dragging down his sentence but he carried on, "I want to... introduce you to someone..."

When his brother turned around to completely face him, it wasn't the familiar expressive blue painting those eyes. They were replaced by crimson ones, the same ones that often played the lead role in his occasional nightmares.

'Rin' smirked at him with fangs that were more profound than normal.

"Hello little brother, long time no see"

.

.

.

Mwahahaha cliffhanger! It's been a long time since I decided to be evil and gave you all one! *evil laughter*

Oh there will be_ smut_, just not in this chapter

Hehe, there you go! 5 new OCs! I hope you like them and I'm sorry I didn't put in scenes displaying their skills, it'll be for later time :p

Anyway do you like them? Sorry if my writing's a bit rusty, it's been a long time since I last put up a chap.. Tell me what you think of this chap, please? Another thing, no matter how they behave, it'll be always Rin/Yukio :3

Review~

**~Golden Mist Fox**


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